


Us

by Milk_and_Egg



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Character Study, Coping with DID, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Eventual Romance, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mentions of Suicide, Past Child Abuse, Post V good ending with some changes, Self-Acceptance, Self-Discovery, Some description of past violence, Spoilers, V Route Spoilers, eventual healthy coping methods, past trauma, unhelpful therapy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:27:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 35,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21904468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Milk_and_Egg/pseuds/Milk_and_Egg
Summary: After a year of Mint Eye no longer existing, Ray and Saeran are still struggling with themselves and their new environment. Everything is confusing and scary in some way. Therapy doesn't seem to be helping and they are still trying to distinguish what is fiction and what is reality. Seven is trying so hard to help his brother get better, but their progress seems to have halted. It seemed pointless to even try to get better... Until Yoosung introduced himself.
Relationships: Choi Saeran & Kim Yoosung, Choi Saeran/Kim Yoosung, Kim Yoosung/Ray
Comments: 47
Kudos: 76





	1. Chapter 1 (A) : Yoosung, Meet Ray

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, I'm sorry if this concept has been done before, but as someone who loves these characters and has been studying counseling and psychology for the past 4 years, I wanted to try to write a story about growth and getting better. I have done a lot of research into DID, but I do not have it myself and I do not claim to be an expert so my portrayal of DID will probably differ somewhat from others who have it.
> 
> This story takes place a year after V's route and his good ending. Except Saeran (and Ray) was rescued by his brother before Magenta exploded. Ray and Saeran's personalities have never integrated like in their route.
> 
> This is the same chapter as the next, but written in Yoosung's POV with a bit more added to it from his perspective. I'll be doing dual chapters like this. (A) chapters being told from Yoosung's POV. And (B) chapters being told from Ray, Saeran, or both's POV. Also, from now on I'll be posting both (A) and (B) chapters at the same time so you don't have to wait to read them. You don't have to read both if you don't feel like it. You might miss some details, but you'll still get the majority of the story if you only read one POV.

Yoosung sighs dramatically and throws his hands into the air. The videogame controller he was holding falls onto his lap. His best friend, Saeyoung Choi, otherwise known as Seven, laughs triumphantly beside him on the leather couch.

Once again, Yoosung was defeated in game by the “greatest hacker in the world”, who was most definitely cheating in some way. He isn’t going to bother calling him out on it like he has numerous times before, because the other man will most likely just laugh again and tell him to stop being a sore loser. He crosses his arms over his chest in annoyance.

Sensing his frustration, Seven shows Yoosung his cat-like grin and pokes him in the side. “Aww don’t be like that. It’s not your fault that I’m the best at almost everything I do,” he says to the pouting blonde.

Yoosung groans and rolls his eyes before saying sarcastically, “Could you be any more humble?”

“Sure could. I’ll even offer to give you lessons to get better,” Seven says, still smirking.

“I’ll pass on that offer. I’d rather win a game using skill instead of hacking the game’s files,” Yoosung replies, still pouting. So much for not calling him out on it.

Seven feigned shock with a gasp and held his hand over his heart, “How dare you accuse me of hacking my own library of games! That’s like accusing me of hacking my own computers or modding my cars to make them go faster!”

“But you do those things too.”

“Absurdities! This boy is full of nothing but absurdities! Get out of my house!” Seven said in mock-disgust while making a “shooing” motion with his hands. Yoosung just raised his eyebrow and stayed where he was sitting.

After seeing that Yoosung was not going to budge, Seven himself pouted and said, “Don’t make me call security, mister!”

“What security? The door? It sure does look scary from all the way over here,” Yoosung said with a bit of mocking in his voice.

Seven set down his controller on the coffee table and folded his hands in his lap like a supervillain in a cheesy action movie. “Well I guess you’ll just have to see what I’ve built for occasions like this,” he leans forward and whispers, “I’ll give you a hint… it’s got a laser.”

Yoosung leaned away and replied with, “You don’t have anything with a laser on it, Seven.”

The other man says nothing but tilts his head forwards as a way of saying, “Do you really want to test that theory?”

“You don’t. There’s no way,” Yoosung says while furrowing his brows. Honestly, he has no idea if Seven has the capability to build a laser, and he isn’t sure if he wants to find out.

Seven sighs and pulls out his phone to supposedly set up the laser, “Guess you gave me no choice but to-“ He’s cut off by the phone suddenly ringing loudly in his hand.

Yoosung isn’t proud to admit that he gave a small shriek at the sudden noise. And of course, Seven laughs at him loudly for a moment before answering the phone with, “Hello, Mary! So lucky for my friend here that you just so happened to call before I could summon my personal security on him.”

His boss is calling him… Well, Vanderwood is calling him. Jumin is Seven’s real boss now, but Vanderwood and Seven work together at Jumin’s company. Seven still treats Vanderwood like a boss though. When Seven gets a call like this that usually means he has been given an assignment and game night is over.

Although he feels mildly agitated at Seven for cheating during their game, Yoosung doesn’t really want to go home yet. He always enjoys hanging out with Seven, even if it means he has to endure a bit of teasing every once in a while. In the past year, Yoosung has been able to hang out with Seven more often now that the other man is taking care of his twin brother, Saeran.

Seven has been taking assignments that let him stay home or only require him to leave for a little bit at a time ever since Saeran has moved into the bunker. He won’t leave Saeran alone for long periods at a time in fear that he’ll hurt himself. Jumin was surprisingly very understanding about the whole thing. Yoosung tried to not think about his cousin doing the most horrible things to Saeran to make him want to hurt himself.

Despite Seven’s almost obsessive worry over his brother, Yoosung never sees Saeran while he’s hanging out with Seven. Occasionally Seven will go check on Saeran, but then he’ll come right back and continue gaming. Seven explained once that Saeran is pretty anxious around people and would rather stay in his room while guests are over. Yoosung didn’t really question it. He would probably want to stay away from people as well after what Saeran has been through.

While his friend talked on the phone, he could hear him say, “Now? That’s a bit soon, don’t you think?” Then after a bit of silence Seven answers with, “Alright, Alright, I’ll be there in a few. Don’t get your panties in a bunch, Mary.” Then he hangs up and faces Yoosung. “Got to go do some work with the lovely boss. Shouldn’t be longer than an hour if you want to stick around,” Seven says with a smile.

Yoosung was surprised by this offer. Seven never lets him just hang out at his house by himself. Well, technically he won’t be by himself, but he never sees Saeran anyway. So… it’ll most likely be like he’s by himself. “Really? I mean I’d love to stay, but are you sure?” He didn’t mean to make it sound like he doesn’t want to be here, because he truly does want to stay and spend more time with his best friend. However, Seven is really paranoid about other people interacting with his brother for some reason.

“Sure, Saeran probably won’t leave his room anyway with you here. If you want to leave, I can take you home, no big deal,” Seven answered while putting his jacket on.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll stay. But when you get home, we’re going to play a game that you haven’t hacked,” Yoosung says from the couch as he watches Seven gather various things off of his countertops.

Seven laughed and said, “You have absolutely no proof that I hacked the game we just played.”

Yoosung only shook his head in disagreement. Once Seven finished gathering various things like car keys, his wallet, and pieces of unknown technology, he walked back over to where Yoosung was in his living room. He was momentarily taken aback by the sudden uncomfortable expression on Seven’s face. It was like a switch had been flipped with how sudden the mood change was. Seven looked behind Yoosung to the hallway where the bedrooms were.

He’s probably about to tell Yoosung that he changed his mind and would like him to leave. It’s disappointing, but Yoosung understands why Seven would kick him out. That isn’t what Seven says to Yoosung.

Instead, he leans down and softly says, “He’s been doing well today, but if anything happens like a panic attack or something please call me. Also, I mentioned it a few times before, but his therapist says that he’s been experiencing some sort of delusions. It’s not a big deal, but if he does come out of his room just don’t say his name, alright? And he might be nervous with you around, so just try to make him feel comfortable and be nice … If he comes out of his room, that is.”

That’s a lot to take in. It’s obvious how nervous Seven is and it’s starting to make Yoosung nervous as well. Yoosung vaguely knew what Seven is talking about when he mentioned “delusions”. Seven talked about it a few times to the RFA when he’s been asked about his brother. The only thing Yoosung really remembers from those conversations is that Saeran has been struggling a lot with the trauma he went through.

“Okay,” is all he replies with, unable to come up with anything else.

It makes Yoosung a little uncomfortable to be talking about Saeran like this. It’s like he’s been given instructions incase a bomb goes off. And the whole thing about not saying Saeran’s name was a bit weird. But it’s none of his business. Saeran probably won’t even leave his room like Seven said.

Seven smiles again and says, “Good. I’ll be back in a bit. Don’t eat all my chips like you did earlier.”

Then he makes his way to the huge steel door before Yoosung can say goodbye. The door slams shut behind him and suddenly the bunker feels very quiet. He sure left in a hurry and it probably has nothing to do with the mission his boss sent him on.

At first Yoosung just looks around the living room. He’s unsure of what to do with himself. After a moment, Yoosung turns the channel on the television and begins to browse what’s on. He finds nothing interesting, so he just starts scrolling through various social media apps on his phone.

He’s looking at some LOLOL memes when he hears a sound come from the hallway behind him. It sounded like a door opening. Yoosung fumbled to turn off his phone and looked over his shoulder behind the couch. He noticed that his heartbeat sped up a bit. Saeran must have left his room.

The thought alone made Yoosung a bit anxious. Seven said he was having a good day, so he should be fine, right? Does he even know that Yoosung is here? Seven didn’t go into the hallway before he left.

And suddenly Saeran Choi appeared from the hallway. He stopped as soon as his eyes met Yoosung’s. He was frozen in place and just looked at Yoosung with what looks to be fear. Yoosung could only look into the other man’s eyes for a moment. They weren’t gold like he expected, but a mint green. The color had been ruined for Yoosung last year, but it really looked nice on Saeran.

He turned so his whole body was facing Saeran; he wanted to get a better look at the man. A lot about Saeran’s look was not what Yoosung expected. He expected a copy of Seven; the two were twins after all. Saeran’s hair didn’t match Seven’s either. It was a bright white with what looked to be pink on the tips of his hair. His hair was neater than Seven’s as well like he took the time to brush it all out, while Seven’s looks like he did just enough to look presentable. Saeran was wearing a lilac sweater with blue sleeves. He doesn’t have the same style as Seven either.

Yoosung noticed that he was being kind of a creep just examining Saeran. No wonder the other man looked so nervous. There was just some guy staring at him in his living room with his brother nowhere to be seen.

Yoosung tried to fix this by smiling and explaining, “Um, Hi! Seven was called to do something with his boss. He said it would only take an hour at most, so he let me stay here until he gets back…”

Saeran continued to just look at him until he nodded slowly. Yoosung expected Saeran to move on to whatever he was out here to do, but instead he was still frozen in place. This isn’t going well. Seven wanted him to make Saeran feel comfortable if he left his room and Yoosung is doing the opposite of that.

Saeran isn’t even looking at Yoosung anymore; it looks like he’s staring straight past Yoosung. Is he seeing something? Is this one of those delusions Seven warned him about? Maybe he should say something to get his attention again.

“I can, uh, I can leave if you want me to. I don’t mind if it makes you more comfortable,” Yoosung said and looked at the door.

He didn’t really know what to do to make Saeran more comfortable but leaving would probably help. Truthfully, he doesn’t even have a way to go home because Seven drove him here. He could always try to catch a bus if Saeran really wants him to leave.

He heard Saeran speak for the first time when he said, “No, that’s fine. You just surprised me. I thought you left, and I was hungry, so I came out to look for something to eat,” His voice was kind of soft-sounding with a bit of power hidden behind it. He doesn’t really sound like Seven either. He looked at Saeran again and their eyes met once more.

He was relieved that Saeran seemed to be okay. Yoosung gave a small smile and said, “You don’t have to explain yourself. You live here.”

Saeran looked kind of conflicted at this for some reason and muttered, “…I guess you’re right about that.”

Yoosung could see him visibly relax after he said that. He no longer had that fearful expression he’s had for the entirety that Yoosung has known him. All three minutes of it. Maybe he should properly introduce himself. That might be a little dumb since Saeran probably knows everything there is to know about Yoosung. He did apparently watch them through the RFA messenger for a long time before inviting MC to Magenta. Still, it would be rude to not introduce himself, right? It’s his best friend’s twin brother after all.

He sprang off the couch and went over to where Saeran was standing. He looked at Yoosung with apparent confusion. Yoosung, in response to the silent question of “what are you doing?”, held his hand out for Saeran’s to shake. Saeran seemed almost baffled by the gesture. It might have been a mistake to get into Saeran’s personal space, but it’s too late to back down.

Yoosung then properly introduced himself with a bright smile, “I know you probably already know who I am because you hacked into the RFA messenger and everything, but I’m Yoosung and it’s nice to finally meet you!” Well, it wasn’t a “proper” introduction, but it’ll work.

Saeran smiled, grasped Yoosung’s hand, and shook it firmly. Yoosung was amazed by how comfortable Saeran seemed to be with shaking his hand. Seven mentioned that he was uncomfortable around guests, but he seems fine now.

Saeran then said something that surprised Yoosung even more, “Nice to meet you too, Yoosung, I’m Ray.”

Ray? Yoosung was momentarily perplexed by this until he remembered that a year ago MC used to call Saeran “Ray” in the messenger. Is that the name he prefers to be called? Is this connected to the reason why Seven doesn’t want Yoosung to call him Saeran? Then why does Seven call him “Saeran” at all instead of Ray?

Yoosung wants to ask Saeran or Ray which name he prefers, but he’s kind of afraid that it’ll upset him in some way. Instead of asking, he smiles again when he notices Ray’s look of uneasiness. He said the name Ray, so Ray it is for now.

Ray let go of their hands and begun toying with strands of his own hair. Then he said, “Would you… like something to eat? Or drink maybe?” and looked at the kitchen.

Yoosung thought about saying yes just because he doesn’t want to reject Ray. However, after his and Seven’s snack binge he doesn’t think he can eat anything else without it starting to hurt.

So, he said in a nice way, “No, that’s alright. I’m still full from all the chips Seven and I ate a little while ago. Thank you, though!”

Ray didn’t seem too concerned with his offer being turned down and said, “Oh, alright then. Do you need anything at all?”

He looked from the kitchen to Yoosung again. Ray is very polite; another unexpected trait. Ray is almost nothing like the Saeran Yoosung had in his mind for so long.

He remembered that Ray mentioned being hungry earlier. Yoosung feels a little bad for keeping him away from getting something to eat, so he says, “No, that's alright. You mentioned that you were hungry though. You don’t have to keep me entertained if you want to get something to eat.”

Then he made his way back over to the couch where he was previously sitting. That should be enough to convince Ray that he can get himself food if he’s hungry.

Taking his phone out of his pocket, Yoosung unlocked it and started to look at yet another LOLOL meme. He couldn’t focus on the screen though, because he hasn’t heard footsteps yet. Is Ray still standing there? He looked behind his shoulder to see that, yes, he was still there. He was a bit concerned that Ray seemingly isn’t hungry anymore. Or maybe he just doesn’t want to eat in front of people. Yoosung knows a few people that are like that.

He shouldn’t worry too much. Seven will be home in less than an hour. Yoosung can leave then and let Ray eat in peace. For now, maybe the two of them can hang out if Ray is okay with that.

He offered this to Ray with, “You can come sit with me if you aren’t doing anything else, I don’t mind… I mean! If you’re comfortable with that. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do!” That could have been executed better. He must still be a bit nervous.

Yoosung was both worried and confused when Ray grimaced at him and then looked angry. Did he say something wrong? He said that Ray didn’t have to sit with him if he didn’t want to. Why does he look so offended by that? Yoosung can feel himself frown as well. Then Ray comes over to the couch and stands in front of him. Ray glared down at Yoosung, his eyes felt like they were piercing right into Yoosung’s heart. He looks even angrier from here.

Yoosung’s mouth feels dry all of a sudden, but he still asks cautiously, “Are you okay?” That’s a safe question, right?

Apparently not. Ray just says rather calmly, “No. I’m not okay.”

Yoosung’s first thought was to call Seven and say, “Your brother is not okay”. But he doesn’t want Seven to be mad at him too. What happened to make him not okay? Is he having a panic attack? It doesn’t look similar to any of the one’s Yoosung has had in the past. He spoke so calmly. How can Yoosung make him okay again? He tries to say something to make Ray feel better, but Ray speaks before he has the chance to.

“I’m not okay with whatever Saeyoung said about me to you. It’s not the first impression I want you to have of me. I’m not as weak as they say I am,” Ray says while looking right into Yoosung’s eyes.

He could see how determined Ray was. Yoosung took each word in and analyzed them like a lawyer would a testimony. Then he looked at Ray with guilt evident on his face. He felt horrible; he was treating Ray the exact same way he didn’t want to be treated. Like a child. Ray isn’t a child, and neither is Yoosung. But Yoosung is always treated like one. It feels horrible sometimes, but for Ray it must be constant with the way Seven spoke about him. Yoosung feels like he could cry just from the sudden guilt he feels.

Ray looks considerably less angry now and more just upset in general. How could he think that he was weak? How could anyone think Ray was weak after what he’s been through? If everything Seven and V said about him was true, then Ray has lived his entire life in fear and pain. And despite everything that happened to him, he’s still here and trying to live a normal life. Yoosung doesn’t know if it would be the same if he were in a similar situation. Ray deserves to at least be treated like an adult after all of that shit.

Yoosung breathes deeply, trying to calm himself down. Then he says quieter than intended, “I'm sorry, Ray. Seven didn't say you were weak, and I don't think you are at all. I think you’re probably one of the strongest people I’ve ever met.” It’s true. Yoosung doesn’t really know anyone who would be doing as well as Ray is after all of that.

The other man looks at Yoosung with wide eyes, he definitely wasn’t expecting Yoosung to say what he did. A timid sounding, “What?” was all that Ray said in response.

Yoosung was even more upset that Ray reacted the way he did. He has never heard those words be spoken about him and that’s not right. He is strong, stronger than even his brother. Yoosung can say that with confidence even though he’s only known Ray for less than an hour.

He shook his head and begun a rant of sorts, “You’re right. Saeyoung did tell me things about you before he left. He made you sound... I don't know how to describe it. Not weak just... like I should really watch what I say around you. I can kind of relate to what he’s doing to you. You feel like he’s treating you like a child. I feel like that's how everyone treats me too most of the time. When we found out that Ri-“ Yoosung stopped speaking when he realized exactly what he was saying.

He can’t just bring up Rika to Ray. That woman did so many things to Ray, none of them positive. He wouldn’t be surprised if Ray started yelling at him and told him to leave. He didn’t do that and instead cocked an eyebrow at Yoosung and motioned for him to continue.

Ray even said, “Keep going. I can handle you mentioning her.”

Yoosung is relieved that Ray isn’t upset at all. He was way more offended by Yoosung triple checking that he was okay. He seems much more curious as to what Yoosung is trying to say. So far, he’s been taking in every word with a nod or a slight change in facial expression.

Yoosung continued with what he was saying, “When we found out that Rika was alive everyone was worried about me. They made Zen watch me to make sure I wouldn’t do something stupid. Everyone had to check up on me every hour for some reason. They thought I couldn’t handle it. Maybe I couldn’t at first, but I'm fine now. I was even there to stop her at the party. Even now they still treat me like a child.” He took another deep breath to calm himself before continuing, “They remind me to go to school and to go to bed and other things too. Seven is only a year older than me, but I don’t see any of them treat him like a child, just me. It’s frustrating and I’m sorry I made you feel that way. I’ll do better from now on, I promise.” He doesn’t even know if he’ll see Ray again, but if he does, he’ll treat him just how Yoosung would like to be treated. He smiled brightly at Ray just to send home the message.

Ray closes his eyes and sighs before flopping down next to Yoosung on the couch. Yoosung watches him curiously. Ray then opens his eyes again, looking right at Yoosung once more, before saying, “Apology accepted. Thank you for understanding.”

Yoosung instantly says, “No, thank you for listening and accepting my apology.” Ray smiles at him in response and Yoosung smiles back.

“Tell me about yourself. I know the basics about you from the messenger, but I don’t know you as a person,” Ray said and leaned back onto the couch.

Yoosung wasn’t expecting Ray to ask that. He’s happy he did. That means that Ray wouldn’t mind getting to know Yoosung and maybe they could be friends. Yoosung didn’t have a lot of friends outside of the RFA and LOLOL. He’d love it if he could be friends with Ray. Then maybe when he’s over and hanging out with Seven, Ray could hang out with them.

Taking a moment to think about Ray’s question, Yoosung leaned back like Ray was and closed his eyes. Ray should know everything about Yoosung. Yoosung talked a lot about himself in the messenger.

He finally opened his eyes and said, “Well I’m pretty open in the messenger so you already know plenty about me. But I guess I like to cook… and I like animals more than people.”

Ray laughed a little at that and Yoosung was delighted at his reaction. Then Ray responded with, “I like to cook too, I can give you some recipes if you’d like. Also, I didn’t expect you to not be a people person. You were always involved with helping people at charity events.”

Yoosung laughed too even though nothing Ray said was particularly funny. He wondered what kind of recipes Ray had. It would be great to learn how to cook something new. Maybe he could even cook for Ray and Ray could critique how well he recreated his dish.

He said cheerily, “Really? Well I didn’t expect you to like to cook. I’d love to cook something with you sometime... And I like helping people, but I’d rather be a vet than a doctor. Animals are way less cruel than people.” He learned that just last year.

The other man smiled in a way that Yoosung hasn’t seen on him before. It was like he was actually smiling because he was happy. Then he said, “That’s true… I’ve never petted a cat or dog before. I think I’d like to. I heard they’re soft.”

Yoosung gasped louder than he probably should have. However, what Ray said was just atrocious. What other normal things has Ray never experienced? He isn’t sure he wants to find out.

So, instead Yoosung says, “That’s a tragedy. They’re very soft and usually very sweet. Someday you will definitely get the chance to pet a cat and a dog. I’ll make sure of it.” A promise that Yoosung doesn’t know he can keep if Seven is as protective of Ray as he seems to be.

Ray changes the subject and quietly asks, “Would you like to talk to me again some time? If you’d like to that is.”

Yoosung smiles even wider. Hopefully Ray doesn’t think Yoosung is weird for smiling as often as he has been. But he can’t help it when Ray just asked Yoosung to hang out again. He wants to be friends with Yoosung too!

Yoosung nods eagerly and replies, “Of course! Just let me know whenever you want to hang out and I’ll come over. Like you said before, our first impression of one another kind of sucked. It’d be great to get to know the real you.” It’s not fair that Ray knows everything about Yoosung, but Yoosung knows next to nothing about Ray.

At first, Ray smiles and nods as well, but then his smile disappears rather suddenly. Yoosung frowns as well; did he say something wrong again? Ray starts playing with his hair and it looks like he’s just staring into space again.

“Hey are you alright? You’re spacing out a bit I think,” Yoosung says, now pretty concerned. Maybe Ray just spaces out pretty often when he’s thinking about something.

Ray blinked a few times and looked back at Yoosung, “I’m… fine. Just a little tired is all.”

His words were dragged out a bit; it sounded like he was falling asleep. Ray then kept blinking quickly and shook his head a bit like he was trying to wake himself up.

Yoosung then remembered that Ray said he was hungry. Maybe some food would help him a bit. “Okay. You did say you were hungry. You can get something to eat if you want. I’m fine just hanging out here,” Yoosung said encouragingly.

Yoosung expected Ray to decline, but he nods and gets up from the couch. He inhaled quickly when Ray stumbled and had to hold on to the couch, so he doesn’t fall. Yoosung got up and stood beside Ray, ready to catch him just in case. Is this when he calls Seven? Maybe this is a real medical emergency. Seven didn’t tell him about any medical issues Ray might have.

His rapid worried thoughts stop when Ray suddenly regains his balance and stands up straight. Yoosung flinches for a moment, thinking Ray was about to fall. He blinks a few more times and looks around, puzzled. Then he looks at Yoosung and jumps a little like he was surprised to see him. He doesn’t say anything but looks very confused.

Yoosung didn’t want to baby Ray again, but he had to know what the hell that was. So, he worriedly asks, “Hey, are you still okay? Do you normally get like that sometimes? Low iron? I used to have that.” He follows that up with an apology just incase Ray took it the wrong way, “Sorry! I’m not trying to be annoying like earlier, but that just looked a little painful.”

Ray didn’t immediately respond. He looked at Yoosung’s face but then looked down at the rest of his body, taking in each part and studying him in a way. Yoosung shivered at this for some reason. A result of probably just being uncomfortable about the whole situation.

Then Ray spoke and Yoosung jumped again, not expecting it, “Shut the hell up. I’m fine.”

The words were spoken harshly, but not like he was mad, just annoyed. Shit, Yoosung did it again. He can feel the guilt on his face when he tells Ray, “I’m sorry.”

“Where’s Saeyoung?” Ray asks, completely ignoring Yoosung’s apology.

Yoosung was confused by this briefly. He told Ray that his brother was out working. Maybe he wants to know specifically where he is. The tone of voice just tells Yoosung that he wants Yoosung to leave. He probably wants Seven to take Yoosung home. That hurt.

He just quietly asks Ray, “Um I don’t know. He didn’t tell me the specifics. Do you need me to call him?”

Ray rolls his eyes in annoyance and walks past Yoosung. Yoosung watches him with his mouth open in disbelief. Is he really that mad at him for making sure he was okay when it looked like he was about to pass out? He doesn’t even really sound like himself anymore. His smooth voice is a bit rougher now and he talks quicker than he previously did. Does he hate Yoosung now? Is that why he’s talking to him like that?

The other man goes into the kitchen and opens the freezer. At least he’s eating. Yoosung goes after him, not wanting to end their friendship to end like this so soon. Ray takes a pizza from the freezer and just walks past Yoosung again to get to the oven, not even looking at Yoosung. Then he turns the oven on, leans on the counter, and looks at Yoosung questioningly with his hands crossed over his chest.

Yoosung starts his new apology, “I’m sorry I made you upset. I was just trying to make sure-“ But then Ray cuts him off.

“I’m not upset. I will be upset if you keep bothering me,” Ray says so casually.

He doesn’t even seem mad. Yoosung can feel his throat constrict and tears sting his eyes. Ray doesn’t say anything and just watches as Yoosung saunters back to his spot on the couch.

Yoosung wills himself not to cry. He refuses to shed tears because of someone he just met. He gets his phone out to distract himself when the large metal door opens and he hears a familiar, “Honey I’m home!”

He is both relieved and terrified that his best friend is home. What is he going to tell Seven? He can’t tell him that Ray liked him and now doesn’t like him anymore for being annoying.

He’s brought out of his thoughts when a hand is suddenly ruffling his hair rather aggressively. Yoosung turns around and glares at his friend. Seven just smiles back down at him before looking over his shoulder quickly at his brother before turning back to Yoosung.

“I’m surprised to see that brother dearest has joined you outside of his room,” Seven said quietly. Why is he whispering?

Yoosung decided that half-truths are better than lies in this situation. He halfheartedly returned Seven’s smile and said, “Yeah we chatted for a little bit. It was a good time and I’m pretty sure he thought so too. He even said he wanted to hang out with me again some time.” Probably shouldn’t have said that last part. Ray doesn’t seem to want anything to do with Yoosung anymore.

Seven looked genuinely taken aback by this new information. He also looked absolutely delighted. He glanced once more behind him to the kitchen. “Really? That’s actually… amazing. You don’t know what kind of progress that is for him. Thank you so much, Yoosung,” Seven said while continuing to whisper.

Usually, Yoosung would love this kind of rare and genuine praise from his best friend, but now it felt kind of… wrong. He isn’t a tool for Ray to get better. All Yoosung could do is nod in response.

Seven noticed his friend’s discomfort and frowned again before asking, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing!” Yoosung said suddenly, “I’m just tired. Could you take me home? Sorry, I know you just got back.”

The redhead could see that something else was wrong, but he didn’t comment on it. “Sure thing, we can head out whenever you’re ready,” He said and went back to the door where he came from with his hands in his pockets.

Yoosung quickly followed him but stopped at the kitchen. He can’t leave without saying goodbye to Ray. That would be rude, and he doesn’t want Seven anymore suspicious than he is.

“Thank you for spending time with me. I had a good time,” He says while putting on a kind of fake smile for Ray.

He hopes Ray doesn’t actually hate him. His distress increases when Ray says nothing back and just looks at his brother and Yoosung for a few seconds. He doesn’t look upset though, just maybe a little puzzled.

He left with Seven out the door when the both of them realized Ray wasn’t going to say anything back. Awkwardly, he got into Seven’s car and put his seatbelt on. Yoosung looked at Seven when the car didn’t start and was startled to see Seven leaned over and just staring at Yoosung with a worried sort of smile.

“Can I help you?” Yoosung said trying to sound annoyed, but it came out more nervous.

Seven hummed and swayed to the side before asking, “So, what did you and my little brother talk about?”

“Aren’t you twins? You’re the same age as him,” Yoosung replied with a huff, preferring that they didn't talk about Ray.

His best friend tutted before saying, “Don’t change the subject, Yoosungie! I’m a worried big brother who’s just hoping that his friend hasn’t tainted his brother’s innocence or vice versa.”

Yoosung felt himself flush. “What do you mean by that?” He asked.

“Guess that means you’re still innocent then. Us Choi brothers have excellent manners you know,” Seven replied cheekily before starting the car. Was all of that to make fun of Yoosung or scare him? It could be either or both.

Seven pulled the car out of the garage and sped off to the directions of Yoosung’s apartment. While driving, Seven kept stealing glance’s at Yoosung. It was making him uncomfortable.

Yoosung sighed and asked, “Do you really want to know what we talked about?”

“Yes, please,” Seven responded cheerfully.

He was very tempted to tell Seven about how Ray didn’t like the way Seven treated him. Instead he said, “We talked about cooking and other little stuff like that. He’s never petted a dog or cat. That kind of made me sad.”

Seven nodded. “It would be nice if Saeran had the chance to pet Elly. I’m sure he would love her just as I do,” He said.

Yoosung noticed that Seven called Ray "Saeran" again. He couldn’t stop himself from asking, “What is your brother’s name?”

Seven’s cheerful smile disappeared almost instantly and was replaced with a grimace. “Saeran. I just said it a second ago. Why do you ask?” He spoke hurriedly. It was obvious he knew the reason why Yoosung would ask.

“He introduced himself to me as Ray. Why does he call himself Ray when you call him Saeran?” Yoosung asked semi-accusingly.

“Well, uh, that’s a hard one to answer,” Seven said while keeping his eyes firmly on the road.

“If him and I are going to be friends I think I should know what I should call him,” Yoosung was fired up about this.

Ray or Saeran probably didn’t even want to see him again, but if there was still a chance that they could be friends, Yoosung wants to know how he can better communicate with him.

The man driving tapped his fingers against the steering wheel for a second before timidly responding. “I guess you’re right and you proved the two of you can play nice.”

He took a deep breath before explaining, “Um, his therapist told me that Saeran believes that he has two selves or personalities. One part is what he calls his normal self, the one you probably talked to, who uses the name ‘Ray’. And there’s the part that he calls his aggressive self, who he named ‘Saeran’. Saeran is the name he was born with. So, I call him that.”

Yoosung took a moment to take all of this information in. Ray and Saeran are one person but also two? He seen a movie once with a character like that. And didn’t Zen play a character like that too? Suddenly stuff started to make more sense to Yoosung. Is Ray not mad at Yoosung at all right now? Was the person he talked to on the way to the kitchen, Saeran? He spoke completely differently than Ray had. Are they two different people then? He has so many questions he wants to ask Ray, Seven, and even Saeran.

Yoosung turned his attention back to Seven and asked, “You call them both "Saeran"?”

“No, I call him Saeran. There aren’t really two different people. He’s just confused,” Seven said, now sounding even more uncomfortable with this conversation.

And now Yoosung is confused. But didn’t he just say that their self is split into two parts?

Seven must have known that Yoosung is thinking this because he then says, “His therapist says that Saeran believes that’s what’s happening. She told me that he’s just experiencing delusions from the trauma he experienced and that it would be better to just not encourage that behavior.”

Seven is explaining this gently, but it sounds incredibly cruel to Yoosung. Their voice changing was so realistic though. And Saeran didn’t even seem to remember why Yoosung was even there. That’s all fake?

All he can say is, “Oh.” He would ask more questions, but Seven pulled up to his apartment building.

“Sorry to make everything awkward, hopefully next time we can just have fun, and maybe Saeran will even join us!” Seven said, obviously pretending to be positive.

Yoosung unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car. “Yeah, maybe,” He said trying to replicate Seven’s faux-positive tone. Then he shut the car door and watched as Seven took off down the street.

He has a lot to think about tonight.


	2. Chapter 1 (B) : Ray, Meet Yoosung

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray and Yoosung meet for the first time. Ray already decides that he likes Yoosung's presence and would like him around more often. Saeran just wants to be left alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the B version of Chapter 1 told by Ray and Saeran's perspective. I'd consider this one optional because they don't diverge much, but please read if you'd like to know Ray and Saeran's thoughts!

Today is an alright day. It’s not great, but it’s not terrible either.

Ray spent the majority of the day with his laptop on his lap, mostly watching gardening and cooking videos. He now knows how to grow and use a perfect garden tomato in meals. Usually, he’s more of a flower gardening kind of guy, but today he actually felt a little hungry for once which is rare for him.

His appetite has never been the best. The only thing he finds himself craving are frozen sweet treats. Any other time, he just isn’t hungry even though he knows he should be. However, the tomatoes in the videos he watched looked kind of good. He would go and find something to eat, but he knows the only thing in the bunker with tomatoes in it are frozen pizzas.

Maybe he should try to convince Saeyoung to buy actual ingredients next time he goes shopping. Or maybe Ray could accompany him to the store and pick out what he wants. The only downside to that would be having Saeyoung’s eyes constantly on him while they’re in public like he was a five-year-old.

He appreciates his brother for caring so much about him, he truly does, but the constant worrying is kind of degrading. Ray understands that he isn’t like everyone else. He has been through a lot and was mistreated by people he thought he could trust.

He doesn’t even remember a good chunk of it, but he has been told about the horrors that he forgot. It was some horrifying stuff to even just hear about. As a result, his behavior isn’t like most “normal” people. He cries too often and smiles not enough. He gets nervous around things he shouldn’t. There are days where he wants nothing more than to disappear and stop the agonizing intrusive thoughts.

And there is that one part of him that everyone just wants to ignore. Ray would like to ignore him too, so he does when he can. He goes to therapy to work on these Mount Everest sized mountain of issues.

Despite all of that, Ray is still an adult and he hates it when he isn’t treated like one. Every time Saeyoung comes by his room just to make sure he's still breathing Ray just wants to slam the door in his face. It has been a little more than a year since Ray had been rescued from what some madwoman called “paradise”. He has gotten way better since he was there, he isn’t perfect by any means and he probably never will be, but Saeyoung still treats him like he's made no progress at all.

Ray doesn’t remember much about the time after Saeyoung dragged him out of Magenta. He didn’t spend a lot of time conscious. He does know that a couple of times he attempted to take his own life. At least he thinks he did, maybe not. That's just what he was told.

He also didn’t eat a lot a year ago, he still kind of doesn’t, but it’s gotten better than before. A lot of time was spent screaming at Saeyoung. That was before he realized that Saeyoung still loved him very much. Ray is still working on loving his brother like he used to, but it’s hard when he’s been told so many times that Saeyoung abandoned and hated him. Hopefully someday he can feel the same way his brother feels about him.

Right now, his brother has one of the members of the RFA over. Yoosung Kim is his name, Ray remembers. The one that has the notorious cousin. Apparently, him and his brother are good friends and have been for a long time.

He has been coming over a lot more lately. Saeyoung doesn’t have people over very often, except for his boss. He’s probably too afraid that Ray will have a mental breakdown in front of someone or something even more embarrassing. He should know by now that the only time he needs to worry about something like that is on a really bad day, which like many other things, doesn’t happen as often as it used to.

Even though Ray is usually having an alright day when Saeyoung invites people over, he doesn’t leave his room. Talking to the RFA members isn’t on his list of things he desires. He realizes that they aren’t the monsters that they were once portrayed to be, but like with his brother, it’s difficult to change such a strong attitude about something that was implanted into his thoughts.

Sometimes, but only briefly, he wants to reach out and talk to someone other than Saeyoung and his therapist. Not someone from the RFA, just someone who doesn’t know him. Just to have a normal conversation that he can’t have with those two. It’s kind of lonely to only be treated like a child or someone who needs constant surveillance. He’s neither of those things. Once he said hello to Vanderwood, but he was too nervous to say anything else, so he went back to his room.

Ray’s attention was brought back to his hunger when his stomach growled quietly. He shifted slightly on his bed and listened. There hasn’t been any noise coming from outside of his room in a while. Yoosung must have left. Which means he can get up and get something to eat with no issue.

He closed his laptop and got up from his bed. His back cracked nicely after being in the same position for a while. He closed his eyes and stretched, successfully making his back crack again. Once at the door, Ray stopped and listened again just in case. There were still no voices or sounds coming from the games the two played together on the giant TV in the living room. He concluded that Yoosung was really no longer here and maybe his brother wasn’t either. That would be all the better.

Ray exited his room and walked down the hallway to where the living room and kitchen are. As soon as both of his feet were in the living room, Ray froze.

His eyes locked with the violet eyes of Yoosung’s. Yoosung was sitting on the couch looking over his shoulder at Ray with wide eyes. Is that how wide his eyes usually are or is he just surprised to see Ray? Ray is certainly surprised to see him.

Why is he still here? Where is his brother? He isn’t ready to talk to someone like Yoosung. He was just thinking about that no less than five minutes ago. Even so, he should say something, he probably looks terrified just standing there gawking at the guy.

Yoosung most definitely noticed how uncomfortable he is. He turned around on the couch so his whole body was facing Ray and he was sitting on his knees. Then he said in a friendly enough tone, “Um, Hi! Seven was called to do something for his boss. He said it would only take an hour at most, so he let me stay here until he gets back…”

The two just stared at each other for a moment until Ray nodded slowly. That’s kind of odd. His brother doesn’t really trust anyone to be at his house while he isn’t there, even Ray sometimes. Maybe Saeyoung really does trust Yoosung, even if he still calls him “Seven” instead of his real name for some reason. It would make sense because Saeyoung also trusts him enough to invite him over every week.

Ray still couldn’t bring himself to move to the kitchen. He is incredibly anxious right now. It’s only Yoosung, the least threatening member of the RFA if he remembers correctly. It doesn’t matter to his brain though, he can’t bring himself to show his back to Yoosung. There is this persistent thought that keeps reminding him that this man is related to the person who ruined his life.

Maybe everyone is right, maybe he can’t take care of himself if he’s this sensitive to seeing Yoosung Kim. He looks incredibly pathetic right now, but he can’t help it. It’s like he’s in a trance, just staring at the top of Yoosung’s head so he doesn’t have to look him in the eyes.

He can feel a hint of his other more aggressive self somewhere in his jumbled thoughts. He’s always there in the back of his mind when Ray starts to feel constricted. Ray really doesn’t want him to come out. Yoosung will definitely not want to meet him.

“I can, uh, I can leave if you want me to. I don’t mind if it makes you more comfortable,” Yoosung said.

Ray snapped out of it and looked back at Yoosung’s face, making eye contact. Just like that, his racing thoughts come to a halt.

Yoosung was no longer looking at him, but at the door. He was also shifting uncomfortably on the couch. Even he can see how odd Ray is. Great, if Yoosung tells his brother about him having a little panic attack he’ll probably never be allowed back here again.

Ray feels a little guilty at that thought. He doesn’t want to be in the company of Yoosung, but his brother should still let himself enjoy his time with his friend.

“No, that’s fine. You just surprised me. I thought you left, and I was hungry, so I came out to look for something to eat,” Ray explained, finally finding his voice. He found himself following Yoosung’s gaze and looking at the door as well.

Yoosung’s attention snapped back to Ray and Ray looked back to Yoosung as well. The blonde man smiled and said, “You don’t have to explain yourself. You live here.”

“…I guess you’re right about that.” Ray felt slightly embarrassed at the correction, but Yoosung was smiling. That means he said something okay, right? He felt himself relax slightly.

Yoosung so far is nothing like her. He’s genuinely nice unlike the fake pleasantries his cousin expresses, he won’t hurt Ray. He wouldn’t hurt his best friend’s brother. Ray keeps repeating these things in his head. His shoulders become a little less tense.

They tensed back up again only for a second when Yoosung got up from the couch and walked around it to where Ray was standing. Ray raised an eyebrow in confusion as a response. He was surprised to see that they are about the same height. He expected Yoosung to be much shorter.

Yoosung held his hand out to Ray. Ray just looked at it with wide eyes. “I know you probably already know who I am because you hacked into the RFA messenger and everything, but I’m Yoosung and it’s nice to finally meet you!” He said with a bright smile. How optimistic. Ray admits that it’s kind of a breath of fresh air compared to the worried looks and unsure smiles he usually gets.

Ray takes Yoosung’s hand after a moment of hesitation and shakes it firmly, not wanting to show anymore weakness. He smiles as well, so Yoosung won't feel any more uncomfortable than how Ray has already made him feel so far.

“Nice to meet you too, Yoosung, I’m Ray,” He said simply, yet a little unsure of himself.

He noticed confusion flash on Yoosung’s face. Ray cringed at himself internally. That was not the name he was supposed to use. However, the look on Yoosung’s face was gone almost as soon as it was there, and he smiled once more. Ray took his hand back and looked away from Yoosung. He isn’t sure what to do now. His hands find his hair and he starts to play with it, a nervous tick of his.

“Would you… like something to eat? Or drink maybe?” Ray asked, now looking at the kitchen. He might as well try to be a good host. He’s pretty good at cooking; Even though the best he can do for now is put pre-made meals in the oven. Saeyoung needs better eating habits.

“No, that’s alright. I’m still full from all the chips Seven and I ate a little while ago. Thank you, though!" Yoosung said in a cheerful way.

Ray isn’t used to hearing “thank you” very often. It’s kind of nice. His brother does everything for him so he doesn’t really do anything that would warrant a thank you. He very rarely heard it from before he arrived here, but he doesn’t like to think about that.

“Oh, alright then. Do you need anything at all?” Ray asked and brought his eyes back to Yoosung. He was still smiling at him.

“No, that's alright. You mentioned that you were hungry though. You don’t have to keep me entertained if you want to get something to eat,” Yoosung responded casually. Then he began walking back towards the couch.

Ray watched him go with mixed feelings. Was he just dismissed? It felt a little too kind to be telling Ray to go away. Once again, he doesn’t know what to do now. At least Yoosung’s presence isn’t making him anxious anymore. That didn’t take long at all, maybe he really is making progress with his people skills.

Yoosung must have noticed that Ray wasn’t moving. He turned his head while sitting on the couch so that he was looking at Ray again. He looked a bit concerned. Ray began to worry that he did something wrong. Maybe Yoosung really did want him to go away.

Those thoughts died away instantly when Yoosung asked, “You can come sit with me if you aren’t doing anything else, I don’t mind… I mean! If you’re comfortable with that. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do!” He seemed to panic at the thought of making Ray uncomfortable, like he was afraid he would snap at the wrong words.

That gave it away that Saeyoung had warned Yoosung ahead of time that Ray has issues… great. It explains why he’s been especially nice to Ray. He pities him. Once again, Ray feels like a helpless animal rather than a functioning adult. He’s both disappointed and a bit angry.

He’s tempted to just go back to his room, slam his door shut, and forget about this encounter ever happening, but he doesn’t do that. No, instead he marches over to the couch and stands in front of Yoosung. He doesn’t want another person to be constantly afraid of breaking him like he’s a fragile little thing.

Yoosung must see that Ray is angry, because his smile leaves his face and he’s looking up at Ray with worry. “Are you okay?” Yoosung asks cautiously.

On his way over here, Ray was planning on yelling at Yoosung for treating him like a child. But he rethinks this as he opens his mouth and instead says calmly, “No. I’m not okay.”

He can see the panic now form on Yoosung’s face. Yeah, Saeyoung definitely scared the kid before he left. Yoosung is about to say something, but Ray cuts him off before he can frustrate Ray further, “I’m not okay with whatever Saeyoung said about me to you. It’s not the first impression I want you to have of me. I’m not as weak as they say I am.”

He keeps his eyes on Yoosung’s. Surprisingly, he isn’t nervous at all while he confronts Yoosung. His head is clear, and he knows exactly what he wanted to say. If he offended Yoosung he will feel a little bad, but he needed to say those words to someone. Anyone who would listen.

Yoosung looks at him with wide eyes and frowns further. Ray isn’t sure what emotion Yoosung is feeling, but he knows it isn’t a good one. The two just look at each other. Yoosung looks like he might cry. Ray’s eyes soften and he tries to look less angry. He wanted his words to knock some sense into Yoosung, but doesn’t want him to cry, especially if Saeyoung could come home at any minute.

Yoosung takes a deep breath and says softly, “I'm sorry, Ray. Seven didn't say you were weak, and I don't think you are at all. I think you’re probably one of the strongest people I’ve ever met.”

Ray looks confused now for multiple reasons. He was never told that he was strong before... and Yoosung called him by his preferred name. He tries to find something to say but all that comes out is a strangled sounding, “What?”

Yoosung didn’t answer whatever question Ray was trying to ask and continued, “You’re right. Saeyoung did tell me things about you before he left. He made you sound... I don't know how to describe it. Not weak just... like I should really watch what I say around you.”

Ray was surprised that Yoosung was admitting this. He was also getting angry again, but he didn’t say anything and let Yoosung keep talking, "I can kind of relate to what he’s doing to you. You feel like he’s treating you like a child. I feel like that's how everyone treats me too most of the time. When we found out that Ri-“ He stops abruptly and looks at Ray like he just made a fatal mistake.

He obviously still has that fear that Ray will go off the rails at the wrong word.

Ray just looks at Yoosung, curious as to what he was going to say. He knows that Yoosung was about to mention his cousin. On a bad day that might set him off like Yoosung fears, but right now is different. He needs to know what Yoosung is thinking. He needs to know that there is someone who can relate to him that isn't his brother, even in some small way.

Ray just says, “Keep going. I can handle you mentioning her.”

The other man relaxes slightly before nodding and repeating himself, “When we found out that Rika was alive everyone was worried about me. They made Zen watch me to make sure I wouldn’t do something stupid. Everyone had to check up on me every hour for some reason. They thought I couldn’t handle it. Maybe I couldn’t at first, but I'm fine now. I was even there to stop her at the party. Even now they still treat me like a child. They remind me to go to school and to go to bed and other things too. Seven is only a year older than me, but I don’t see any of them treat him like a child, just me. It’s frustrating and I’m sorry I made you feel that way. I’ll do better from now on, I promise.” He looked at Ray and smiled brightly again. Full of acceptance. Though, he still had a bit of worry that Ray could see in his eyes. Fear of rejection maybe.

Ray was still upset, but not at Yoosung. He can’t be mad at Yoosung with a passionate rant like that, especially because he relates heavily to what he said. He sits down on the couch next to Yoosung and sighs.

“Apology accepted. Thank you for understanding,” Rays says, sounding tired. He isn’t used to this much excitement unless him or his other self is the one causing it. It’s not even exciting, he’s just talking to someone. It still made him tired all the same.

“No, thank you for listening and accepting my apology,” Yoosung says. Another showing of gratitude. Ray has gotten more thanks today than he has in a long time.

Ray could get used to this. In fact, he’s finding himself not wanting Saeyoung to come back anytime soon. He’d rather keep this moment to himself and keep talking to Yoosung. Ray knows he gets attached to things and people too quickly, but this might be a new record.

“Tell me about yourself. I know the basics about you from the messenger, but I don’t know you as a person,” Ray said and leaned back onto the couch.

Yoosung seemed surprised, but also delighted to be asked such a question. He leaned back as well, closed his eyes, and took a moment to think. When he opened his eyes he said, “Well I’m pretty open in the messenger so you already know plenty about me. But I guess I like to cook… and I like animals more than people.”

Ray huffed out a laugh, “I like to cook too, I can give you some recipes if you’d like. Also, I didn’t expect you to not be a people person. You were always involved with helping people at charity events.”

The other man laughed too, but a little louder than Ray and said, “Really? Well I didn’t expect you to like to cook. I’d love to cook something with you sometime... And I like helping people, but I’d rather be a vet than a doctor. Animals are way less cruel than people.”

Ray smiled warmly at Yoosung’s words. No one had ever expressed that they’d like to do something with him before. His brother absolutely doesn’t count.

Ray responded with, “That’s true… I’ve never petted a cat or dog before. I think I’d like to. I heard they’re soft.”

Yoosung gasped dramatically and said, “That’s a tragedy. They’re very soft and usually very sweet. Someday you will definitely get the chance to pet a cat and a dog. I’ll make sure of it.”

Ray certainly hopes so. He wants to do things with Yoosung like cook and pet animals. “Would you like to talk to me again some time? If you’d like to that is,” Ray says quietly.

He didn’t expect talking to an RFA member to be as fulfilling as it is talking to Yoosung. Maybe they could even be friends like him and Saeyoung are. He definitely can imagine himself getting attached too quickly to Yoosung. It happened with MC. Hopefully if he does get attached, it won't be as painful when they come apart like it was with MC.

Yoosung smiles once more and nods. “Of course! Just let me know whenever you want to hang out and I’ll come over. Like you said before, our first impression of one another kind of sucked. It’d be great to get to know the real you,” He says.

Ray at first is pleased with Yoosung’s answer and smiles, but the phrase “get to know the real you” keeps ringing in his head. His smile fades a bit. Yoosung means that he wants to get to know the real Ray, not the one Saeyoung warned him about. Ray understands that, so why is he scared that Yoosung means his other self? The self that has the name Saeyoung probably used when talking about him.

He plays with his hair, he’s getting kind of worried over nothing. Yoosung probably doesn’t even know about his scarier self. Saeyoung avoids talking about that self like the plague so Yoosung wouldn’t have heard about it.

“Hey are you alright? You’re spacing out a bit I think,” Yoosung says with a hint of concern in his voice. He moves his head to look better at Ray, who’s staring straight ahead at a wall.

Ray blinked and looked back at Yoosung, “I’m… fine. Just a little tired is all.” He tried to focus, but his vision is still a little fuzzy. Maybe he should go take a nap, but he can’t just leave Yoosung here by himself. That would be a terrible thing for a host to do.

“Okay. You did say you were hungry. You can get something to eat if you want. I’m fine just hanging out here,” Yoosung said encouragingly.

It would be rude to eat in front of a guest, but Ray needs an excuse to wake himself up for a bit. Especially before the other takes advantage of the situation and comes out to play for a while.

So, he nods and stands up. He begins to drag himself to the kitchen. He wobbles on his feet for a moment and uses the couch as support so that he doesn’t fall over. Damn, that horrible man really wants some time being conscious. He's so preoccupied with mentally fighting back his other self that he can barely hear Yoosung get up off the couch.

He just made progress with Yoosung and now Yoosung will probably go back to thinking he’s weird and scary if he comes out and-

* * *

Saeran blinks in confusion and stands up straight. He squints a little and looks around before his eyes land on a familiar looking blonde. Why is he in front of Yoosung Kim of the RFA right now?

He looks around again. Where is his asshole of a brother? What is this situation he's in? He wishes he would get a little warning as to what's happening before he wakes up.

“Hey, are you still okay? Do you normally get like that sometimes? Low iron? I used to have that.” Yoosung shakes his head in frustration, “Sorry! I’m not trying to be annoying like earlier, but that just looked a little painful.”

Saeran looks the other man up and down. What has his other airhead self gotten them into? Might as well figure it out than keep wondering. But first, he should make sure the kid doesn’t give himself a heart attack worrying about him.

“Shut the hell up. I’m fine,” He tell him harsher than he probably should have. Old habits die hard, especially when it comes to members of the RFA.

Yoosung promptly shuts up like he's told and looks at Saeran with what appears to be guilt. “I’m sorry,” Is all he says.

Saeran doesn’t acknowledge the apology. “Where’s Saeyoung?” He asks bluntly. The bumbling idiot has to be around here somewhere.

The guilt on Yoosung’s face is now gone, replaced with a questioning look. “Um I don’t know. He didn’t tell me the specifics. Do you need me to call him?” Yoosung asks meekly.

So Saeran’s dickhead of a brother isn’t here after all. Yoosung Kim must be his designated babysitter. How delightful, Now he probably has the whole RFA worried about him. He would like nothing more than to never see another member of the RFA again… minus his brother… sometimes.

Saeran doesn’t bother to answer his babysitter’s question and instead rolls his eyes. Not bothering to deal with the situation he's figured out any longer, Saeran walks past Yoosung to the kitchen after he notices that he’s hungry. Of course Ray didn't eat. Ray doesn't eat more than once a day, which is shitty because he has control of the body way more than Saeran is comfortable with, which is at all. Saeran at least knows how to take care of their body.

As he pulls out one of the many frozen pizzas from the freezer, Saeran can hear Yoosung’s footsteps behind him. Apparently, he didn’t get the hint the Saeran wants to be left alone now. Saeran turns around, pizza still in hand, and moves past Yoosung to the oven. He starts pre-heating the oven. Once done with that, he turns back around and leans his back on the counter. Saeran crosses his arms over his chest and gives a questioning look to Yoosung.

Yoosung looks both stressed out and worried. “I’m sorry I made you upset. I was just trying to make sure-“ Saeran cuts off Yoosung’s pathetic pleas.

“I’m not upset. I will be upset if you keep bothering me,” Saeran says with a huff.

Yoosung looked almost heartbroken at these words. Good. Maybe Saeyoung will finally realize that he doesn’t need a watcher if Yoosung goes crying to him about how mean he is. Saeran just watches as Yoosung turns around and heads back to the living room.

A few minutes later Saeran hears the giant door open and his brother yell, “Honey, I’m home!”

Saeran rolls his eyes again. The oven dings and Saeran puts his pizza in the oven. He pretends to not notice Saeyoung and Yoosung whispering to each other and looking at him. Eventually Yoosung gets off the couch and the two men make their way to the front door.

Yoosung stops in front of the kitchen and says, “Thank you for spending time with me. I had a good time.” He strains a smile at Saeran. Saeyoung seems to be ecstatic about this bonding that Saeran knows didn't happen and was grinning widely.

Saeran doesn’t know how to respond so he doesn’t. He just looks between the two men, wondering what they said about him. Yoosung must have lied to Saeyoung. Saeran doesn’t know why he’d do this. Maybe he’s worried Saeyoung would be upset with him if he didn’t get along with Saeran.

The two men left out the front door, leaving Saeran very confused as to what he witnessed. He’s going to be very pissed off if Ray got them into another stupid situation.


	3. Chapter 2 (A): Yoosung, Meet Saeran

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yoosung spends more time with Saeran and learns more about him and Ray.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told you I didn't have a consistent upload schedule. I'm really sorry about that. I do feel really bad about keeping everyone on edge for that long. I just wasn't into Mystic Messenger again until now. Hopefully, I can get everything done that I plan on doing with this fic before I take another year-long break. I will probably be re-editing this fic within the next few days due to now having a beta reader!
> 
> Back again with Yoosung's POV.

Yoosung was playing LOLOL for about three hours now. He’s been trying to work on playing less recently, but since summer break started a couple of weeks ago he has been extremely bored. Going to Seven’s house usually keeps him entertained. Too bad he can’t be there whenever he wants to.

One thing he’d love to do right now is prepare for an RFA party. That way he’d be less bored and feel productive at the same time. They haven’t had a new party in a year. A party is just what the entire RFA could use right now. Everyone has been a little antsy lately for some reason. V and MC have been on vacation for a long time now.

If only he had the funds to travel to different places and see the world like V and MC are right now. Yoosung’s quite broke at the moment, so he’ll have to just stick with the area he’s in. 

Maybe he could take Ray… Saeran to an animal shelter so he can finally pet a nice fluffy animal. That is, if he’s with the side that likes him. He still doesn’t know how that works. Seven said they’re two people, but they’re also not and it’s all in his head.

His cell phone rings on the small table beside his desk. From where he’s sitting, he can see that Seven is the one calling him. Speak of the devil. 

He pulls off his headset and answers the phone with a, “Hello?”

“Hey, are you doing anything important right now?” Seven asks. 

He sounds a little upset. That worries Yoosung a bit. Did something happen? Is he okay? Is his brother okay?

“No, not really. Is everything alright?” He asks with concern evident in his voice.

“All good. I just have to run to the pharmacy to pick up Saeran’s prescription. The only place that carries his medicine is a little while away. Would you mind hanging out with him for a bit while I go get it? He really enjoyed meeting you last time,” His best friend asks while still not sounding quite like himself.

Is he asking Yoosung to watch Saeran… or Ray? He’s pretty sure Ray wouldn’t like the thought of Yoosung being there specifically to keep an eye on him. He doesn’t want to treat him/them like a child in the way they discussed last time, but he’d also like to see Ray again. 

“That’s kind of funny. I was just thinking about him. I wouldn’t mind hanging out for a bit,” Yoosung answered with a hint of a smile in his voice. He isn’t going there to watch Ray/Saeran, he’s going there to hang out. 

Seven responded sounding more like his usual self again, “Oh? Yoosungie was thinking about my brother? They better have been appropriate thoughts.”

Yoosung sputtered a bit before saying, “Of course they were! Who do you think I am?”

He heard the other man laugh. “I’ll be there soon, be ready,” Then he hung up without giving Yoosung a chance to say anything.

After exiting LOLOL, he grabbed his essentials and left his apartment to wait for Seven outside. He didn’t live too far away from Seven’s bunker, and with how fast Seven’s cars are, his best friend would be here in no time. It’s a mystery that Seven never gets pulled over with how much he goes over the speed limit.

Sure enough, a few minutes later a bright red car pulled up to the curb. Yoosung got in and put his seatbelt on. Then he shot a smile at Seven who smiled right back and began driving once again.

“How are you today?” Seven asked. His moodiness from earlier seemed to be gone.

“Fine, just kind of bored,” Yoosung said and then followed up with, “How is Saeran?”

The real question hidden underneath is “Who is he right now?”. With how uncomfortable Seven reacted last time, the best way to ask about Saeran is vaguely. He wonders if it would be okay to talk about Saeran’s dual self with Saeran/Ray. He learned last time that Saeran/Ray isn’t at all as fragile as Seven made him/them out to be. Wow this is confusing. Even in his head he has no idea how to refer to Saeran.

Seven shook his head in mock disbelief. “First you were thinking about my brother and now you ask about _him_ before _me_? What happened between you two last time?” The redhead asked scandalously.

Yoosung groaned in annoyance and asked, “How are you, Seven?”

“Good, thanks for asking,” He replied with a cheeky grin. Then he said in a more normal and less playful tone, “Saeran is having a kind of difficult day. Just give him some space and he’ll be alright.”

That was kind of worrying. Yoosung asked with apprehension, “What do you mean by ‘difficult’?” So much for the vague questions.

Seven now had that same uncomfortable look on his face as last time. He took his time answering, “Uh, well that more aggressive side I told you about last time is who he decided to be today... If he says something unkind to you, try to not take it to heart, he doesn’t mean it.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll try not to.” Yoosung said, not knowing how else to answer. 

Does that mean that he’s Saeran and not Ray? Or does that mean he thinks he’s Saeran? He doesn’t want to assume anything. So, he’ll try to keep an open mind when he sees him. 

Seven stopped the car just outside of his house. The two men exchanged goodbyes and Seven told Yoosung that the door is unlocked for him. Yoosung got out of the car and entered his friend’s house. He’s a bit nervous to see Seven’s brother. He has no idea what to expect right now other than what Seven told him.

He can see from the entrance that Saeran(?) is sitting on the couch. Saeran seems to be putting in effort to ignore him, not even bothering to look at Yoosung. He’s too busy looking at something on his laptop. 

His hair is slightly messier than it was the last time Yoosung saw him. He was also dressed differently than last time as well. Instead of a colorful sweater, he’s wearing a simple black t-shirt and a pair of black jeans with a chain dangling out of his pocket. Because he was wearing a t-shirt, Yoosung can see half of the tattoo on his arm. Even his facial expression makes him look like a different person than who he met last time. A very drastic change.

Yoosung is going to take a guess and say that this is Saeran and not Ray. He just looks so completely different that it would be dumb to assume anything else. 

His theory was further supported when Yoosung walked over to the couch and stood in front of him. Saeran said nothing but looked up at Yoosung and quickly blinked a few times before he raised an eyebrow. Saeran must not be a fan of talking.

Yoosung smiled in a welcome way and said, “You’re Saeran, right?” 

He hoped he was right. Seven said to not encourage that Saeran was two people and Yoosung was doing just that already. It just felt kind of wrong to just accept that fact without talking to Saeran and Ray first. If it was obviously unhealthy, then Yoosung would stop. If not… Well, he didn’t know what he’d do.

Saeran looked at him like he asked a really stupid question. This made Yoosung momentarily panic. Did he get it wrong? But he looks so different.

“Yeah,” Saeran said simply and Yoosung snapped out of his thoughts.

He didn’t get it wrong after all. Saeran just could have thought it was painfully obvious that he wasn’t Ray. He was so relieved that he put his hand on his chest and let go of a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“Oh good! I got it right then.” Yoosung said with a proud smile. 

Saeran might think he’s dumb, but Yoosung just correctly identified one of two people who share a body. That has to be an impressive feat to someone at least.

His smile faltered a bit when he saw that Saeran still looked terribly confused by what he said. Changing the subject, Yoosung decided he should introduce himself like he did with Ray. It’s only fair that they both get an introduction.

“I’m Yoosung, by the way, but you probably already knew that. Nice to meet you, Saeran.”

Saeran’s bewildered expression did not change, if anything it became more pronounced. This isn’t going how Yoosung would like. Did Saeran even know him? Maybe Ray did all of the RFA hacking stuff and Saeran has no idea who he is. It would explain how stand-offish he was last time.

“We met already, right?” Saeran suddenly asked.

Still feeling uneasy, Yoosung nodded but put on another smile. Then he confirmed, “We did, I think, but I introduced myself officially to Ray, not you.” 

He debated saying that because last time Seven really didn’t want him to say his name. To test the waters on how Saeran reacted, he wanted to mention Ray in his explanation.

Saeran immediately reacted to that and his eyes opened wider in disbelief. Now he was looking at Yoosung almost fearfully.

Oh god. He really is a moron. He disregarded what Seven told him about his own brother’s mental health and now he could break down or-

His anxious thoughts were cut off by Saeran standing up. Yoosung reflexively stepped back, expecting Saeran to lash out at him. A hundred different thoughts went through his head to try and fix this situation.

He started off with trying to explain himself, “Um, if I got something wrong- “

He was cut off by Saeran suddenly interrogating him like he just committed a crime in front of his very eyes, “What’s your goal here? Huh? How do you know about that?” 

Saeran spit the questions out with menace and took a step towards Yoosung. Yoosung put his hands in front of his face to protect it and closed his eyes. He was expecting Saeran to hit him with how angry he suddenly seemed. Yoosung set him off though, so he deserves it if he is hit. He did everything he wasn’t supposed to do.

In an attempt to save his face, Yoosung hurriedly explains, “Seven told me! I’m just trying to be nice. I’m sorry!”

His eyes are still closed, and he’s expecting the punch any second now.

“Why was he talking about me?” Saeran asked. His tone was a lot less intense now and more curious.

Yoosung didn’t take the hint and was still bracing to be hurt when he answered. “I got confused and asked why you had two names… I’m sorry.”

Saeran huffed and said, “I’m not going to hurt you, dumbass. You can open your eyes.”

Yoosung feels like an idiot. He opened his eyes and smiled apologetically at Saeran. Once again, he realizes he made an unfair assumption about Saeran/Ray. This and his meeting with Ray might hold the record for the worst first impression.

He let Seven put the thought of Saeran being aggressive into his head. He even described Saeran as “the aggressive self” in the car. Saeran has talked harshly so far, but he hasn’t done anything to hurt Yoosung.

“Sorry again,” He apologized guiltily. Should he explain himself and why he braced like he did?

Saeran’s arms crossed over his chest. He was doing that thing again where he looked at Yoosung like he was analyzing him. His body language was guarded, and his eyes were silently judging him. Yoosung shifted nervously on his feet.

“Did Saeyoung tell you to pretend Ray and I are the same person?” Saeran then asked somewhat softly. He almost sounded like Ray when he spoke like that, but not completely.

How did Saeran know that? He looked to the floor and frowned. Maybe he was doing a bad thing here. 

He thought briefly that maybe Seven and Saeran were testing him to see if he knew how to act around Saeran. That was a stupid thought, Ray wouldn’t agree to that, so why would Saeran? At least he thinks Ray wouldn’t do something like that. He did just meet him.

He looked back at Saeran’s face and honestly answered, “Something like that, yeah.”

Saeran didn’t look upset nor surprised by this revelation. However, his next words were sharp, “And you decided to just ignore him completely and do whatever you wanted?”

Yoosung flinched at the blunt accusation. Saeran is right though, he did do that. He disregarded his best friend’s advice and he messed up again because of it. The other man might be genuinely upset at him because Yoosung doesn’t know how to control himself. Just like today, he couldn’t stay away from LOLOL even though he has been trying so hard to play it less.

“I…” He sounded miserable, “You’re right. I should have-“

Saeran didn’t let him finish and firmly said, “Shut up.”

Yoosung did just that without even flinching this time. Saeran looked like he had something to say. He watched Saeran expectantly.

He smirked, which was odd to Yoosung considering the poor conversation they were having. He looked bigger than he did a moment before too. Yoosung swallowed audibly.

Saeran took a step forward, now a foot away from Yoosung and said, “I didn’t mean it as a bad thing. My brother is the dumbest piece of shit I know. You shouldn’t listen to him.”

He felt Saeran’s breath on his cheek. His heart began thumping rapidly. Yoosung’s thoughts had to keep reminding him that Saeran isn’t aggressive like Seven says. He won’t hurt Yoosung, he won’t. 

This isn’t a threat, just some advice. Advice that was very critical of Seven. So, Saeran didn’t like how Seven treated him either.

“Do not ever doubt what I am about to say to you, or I will be very upset. You don’t want that, do you?” Saeran spoke in a low voice that rumbled against Yoosung’s ears.

Yoosung looked back into Saeran’s eyes and shook his head. He felt himself shiver. This didn’t feel as scary to Yoosung as it probably should have been. That was definitely a threat, but looking into Saeran’s eyes he could see that he was enjoying this. His blueish-green eyes shined in excitement. It made Yoosung feel a way that he couldn’t describe. He just knew he wasn’t scared.

Seeing Yoosung’s reaction, Saeran’s eyes softened but the smirk remained. He leaned in just another inch and said, “Good. I am one person. Ray is another person, one that I would be embarrassed to call me. It’s not that confusing so don’t think about it too hard. Treat us as such and I’ll be happy.”

Then he stepped back out of Yoosung’s personal space. Yoosung’s body relaxed again instantly. He kept his eyes on Saeran while his brain felt like it was rebooting. He’s never been cornered like that by anyone and it made his skin feel tingly.

Saeran raised his eyebrow and scanned Yoosung once more before turning around and walking away. He walked down the hallway towards the kitchen, just leaving Yoosung frozen in place.

Once out of sight, Yoosung’s brain was able to form coherent thoughts again. Saeran’s words echoed in his mind and he realized what he was trying to say. Yes, that was a threat, but it was also a plea to be seen as his own person. It’s kind of sad that he needs to resort to threats to get that point across.

He lives with someone who won’t see him like that. Seven was told to not “humor” Saeran and Ray, but is that really the correct way to act? They haven’t hurt anyone by being two people, so why not just let them live the way they want to? Aren’t two brother’s better than one?

Yoosung feels complicated, but he knows what he believes now. Today wasn’t supposed to be so serious. They were just supposed to be hanging out.

He hears Saeran’s voice ring out from the kitchen, “Do you want something to eat?”

He sounded completely over what just happened between them. Yoosung shakes himself out of his thoughts and goes to where Saeran’s voice is coming from.

Once he’s in the kitchen he can see Saeran scowling at the mostly empty refrigerator. He stood beside him to get a better look into the fridge. It’s all just soda.

“I am a little hungry now that you mention it. I didn’t have lunch yet,” Yoosung said.

Saeran must not have known he was there, because he jumped where he was standing and whipped his head to face Yoosung. They looked at each other for a moment. Then Saeran sighed and shook his head, silently thinking to himself.

Saeran looked in the freezer to find it similarly empty with only pizza boxes in it. Yoosung stepped back to give him room while he stomped over to the cabinets. Yoosung couldn’t see from this angle, but the look on Saeran’s face tells him there isn’t anything he wants up there either.

He sighs again, louder this time. “How do we only have two options in this house?”

Yoosung stands on the tips of his toes to see bags of Honey Buddha Chips where Saeran is looking. 

He doesn’t want to make Saeran feel like he needs to make Yoosung a meal for lunch, so he says, “Well… I do really like Honey Buddha Chips.”

Saeran didn’t move for a second, still looking into the cupboard. Then he turned around with a smile on his face that didn’t reach his eyes.

“How about instead you help me shop for groceries?” He said, hinting that he really wants to do that with how hopeful his voice sounds.

Seven almost certainly wouldn’t want Yoosung to leave the house with Saeran. There is no way for Seven to not know if they left the house. There are cameras outside and inside. The door alerts Seven when someone tries to open it. Who knows what happens when the garage door opens.

“Is that…” Yoosung begins. 

He wanted to ask if that would be okay with Seven, but he stops himself. Saeran specifically told him to not listen to Seven. Yoosung wonders if he means matters concerning Saeran or all matters entirely. 

Looking at Saeran, Yoosung can see he already looks disappointed in whatever Yoosung is about to ask. His smile was fading. If Saeran knows it’ll be okay to go to the store, then why should Yoosung question it?

“Okay, Sure,” Yoosung finally said, now with renewed confidence. That confidence is a little forced on for Saeran’s sake.

Saeran looked shocked for just a brief second before smiling again. This smile looked a lot nicer than the one Saeran had before.

“Great, let’s get to it then,” Saeran said and moved past Yoosung out of the kitchen. 

Yoosung followed him and Saeran grabbed a pair of keys from the hooks by the door to the garage. Those hooks had numerous keys on them belonging to Seven’s babies and anything else with a lock on it. Saeran looked like he grabbed the keys currently in his hand at random.

He knows he should trust Saeran, but he can’t help wondering if Saeran knew how to drive. He must know because he wasn’t giving the keys to Yoosung. Not that Yoosung would be any better. He doesn’t have a license. Does Saeran drive like Seven? Hopefully not. Seven is a maniac when driving.

Yoosung gets in Seven’s silver car and puts on his seatbelt before closing the door. Saeran gets in the car with him. He started the car up with no issue and pulled out of the garage with no effort. Yoosung breathes a silent sigh of relief. Saeran knows how to drive.

Once on the road, Saeran rolls the windows down and relaxes by leaning his head on his hand. He used the other hand to steer the car. Yoosung watched him with curious eyes. Saeran’s mostly white hair was blowing in the wind and he looked at ease. Yoosung felt himself relax just looking at him.

Yoosung could use this opportunity to bond with Saeran like he did with Ray. They could learn more about each other and make some jokes here and there. Yoosung liked the idea of being with a friend no matter who was piloting their body.

“So… how have you been today?” Yoosung asked with a little hesitation evident in his voice. He frowned at himself. Get a grip, he isn’t scary.

He sees that Saeran rolled his eyes at the prospect of small talk.

“Fine,” He said simply.

“That’s good,” Yoosung responded just as simply.

“Uh huh,” Was the reply he got.

Yoosung waited, then knit his brows together when he realized that was all he was getting. Saeran just wasn’t into talking right now. He did look peaceful earlier and probably didn’t want to be disturbed. Yoosung mentally added another tally to the “times I made Saeran upset” list he was making in his head.

To even further make the point that he didn’t want to talk, Saeran turned on the radio. Yoosung recognized the song as something from Seven’s playlists. It was fast-paced and happy-sounding.

The radio was turned off and Saeran grimaced. Saeran and Seven must not share the same taste in music.

“Ew,” Saeran says while still glaring at the radio like it insulted him.

Yoosung couldn’t stop the small laugh that escaped his lips. Saeran didn’t say anything after that for a while.

He surprised Yoosung when he spoke again now that they were closer to the store, “Are the RFA holding anymore parties soon?”

Yoosung didn’t expect him to speak again at all, let alone a question about the RFA. He thought Saeran hated the RFA for obvious reasons. Or maybe that’s Ray.

“Oh! Uh, Not really. V and MC are still in Alaska. They said when they get back, we can hold more parties though,” He replied in a more upbeat tone.

Saeran hummed and looked almost annoyed at this answer. Did he want there to be a party soon like Yoosung? He didn’t seem like the partying type, but RFA parties aren’t much like normal parties anyways. A party could also be a good way to spend time together. 

“Do you want to go to one?” Yoosung asked hopefully. 

Without even thinking about it Saeran said, “I’d rather die.”

“Oh uh, I’m sorry,” Was all Yoosung could think to say.

“It’s fine,” Saeran said, not showing if he was upset or not.

Saeran also doesn’t like the RFA, that’s for sure. He’s taken the time to talk to Yoosung and hasn’t really said anything mean. Just a threat that Yoosung found justifiable. So, Saeran could have an issue with whom the RFA was founded by rather than who is currently in it.

Maybe they should change the name, that might help. The thought pains Yoosung and he’s slightly ashamed of that. It shouldn’t be as difficult to dislike Rika as much as it does. 

Yoosung dug at his fingernails. Sometimes he wished that Rika was nasty to him like she was to everyone else. Then he could toss her memory away and forget about her. Instead, sometimes he can trick himself into thinking that she just needs a little help and she’ll be back to normal. 

When he’s more rational he understands that Rika’s kindness wasn’t her normal. From what he understands, Rika was manipulating Seven and his brother for much longer than she was doing charity parties with Yoosung. 

Another thought appeared. Did Rika manipulate both Saeran and Ray? Did she even know that there are two of them? She could have been like Seven and ignored it, it would have made them hurt worse.

He can’t take this depressing train of thought anymore. It’ll eat at him for the rest of the day if he lets it continue. 

Yoosung wonders if Saeran could help him understand his situation a little more. It would be a welcome distraction. 

He thinks for a moment before finding a question to ask, “Can I ask you something? If you don’t mind.”

“Depends,” is what Saeran said. He’s back to one-word answers now. Yoosung hopes it isn’t his fault and it’s just something he does.

“About uh, you and Ray?” He clarified.

“Depends,” the other man said again.

Good, that isn’t a taboo topic like he feared.

“Promise to tell me if you don’t like the question?” Yoosung asks just to really be sure. A voice in his head tells him he’s being irritating again with the triple checking.

“I was going to do that anyways.”

Awesome, no worries then. Except for asking a question he doesn’t like. Yoosung nods once to get himself ready.

Then he asked what he hoped was an okay question, “Which one of you came first?”

It’s a little lame, like asking if Saeran was the chicken or the egg. Saeran was quiet for a moment and Yoosung thought maybe he was ignoring him because it was a dumb question.

He then said, “Both.”

Or maybe not. That wasn’t what he expected to hear. 

Is it possible for someone to be born with two minds instead of one? The possible scenarios and theories bounced around in Yoosung’s head. Saeran and Ray are really interesting. He finds himself wanting to know more about them and what they’ve been going through. He remembers helping Zen with a character who had two selves like Saeran and Ray. But the characters were nothing like how they actually act. 

Saeran looked at him for a moment to gauge his reaction. He looked like he genuinely wanted to know Yoosung’s thoughts. Yoosung felt the need to say something, but then Saeran’s face softened.

Unexpectedly, Saeran continued, “We used to be one person. Then something happened and suddenly I was asleep for a long time. A month at least. Then I woke up, but Saeyoung told me that I hadn’t been asleep. None of us understood it. None of us understand it still.”

Yoosung readily took in the new information. They weren’t born that way but were one person that split into two. He has more questions as well. What was that something that made them split? When in his life did they split? What happens when one of them falls asleep?

Instead, he chose to try and empathize with Saeran, “That sounds scary. Being asleep for half of your life.”

“More than half. I’m not out as often as the airhead. You just got unlucky today I guess,” Saeran replied casually. More casually than Yoosung could ever say if he was in the same position.

Yoosung was hung up on the word, “unlucky”. He was warned beforehand that Saeran would say some stuff that Yoosung wouldn’t like. That doesn’t mean he wouldn’t enjoy hanging out with Saeran. They have gotten off on the wrong foot, but with time they could be good friends. He doesn’t feel unlucky at all.

“Why would you call that unlucky?” Yoosung tried to, but he couldn’t ignore it.

Saeran raised an eyebrow like the answer was obvious. “Ray is everyone’s favorite.”

Yoosung frowned further. Ray, so far, has been nice. A little more anxious than Saeran, but nice. They clicked well together and Yoosung already considers him a friend. That doesn’t mean he’s his favorite. Saeran hasn’t given him a real reason to like him less than Ray.

“I just met you two. I don’t have a favorite.”

“You will,” Saeran replied effortlessly.

Then Saeran pulled the car into the parking lot. They made it to the store, but Yoosung wasn’t done with this. 

As Saeran backed into a parking space Yoosung spoke up, “I can be friends with both of you, you know.”

Saeran must have thought this was a joke. He rolled his eyes and breathed out a sarcastic laugh. 

Yoosung watched him, now more upset. Saeran watched back, unsure of Yoosung’s expression.

A beat passed, Saeran opened the car door and said, “I don’t make friends very easily.” The tone had a hint of welcoming in it, challenging Yoosung back in a way.

Yoosung left the car and responded with determination, “Well, I guess we’ll have to work towards it then.”

Saeran left the car as well with a smile now on his face that he looked like he was fighting to control.

“We’ll see,” He responded, refusing to let Yoosung have the last word.

Yoosung smiled brightly and followed Saeran to the entrance of the store. They had their first conversation that went right. Yoosung is proud of himself. He usually doesn’t try that hard at anything that isn’t LOLOL related.

Once inside Saeran uttered a sharp, “Fuck!” under his breath.

Afraid he might have been in pain, Yoosung quickly asked, “What is it?”

“I forgot the cash at home.” He looked angry and a little embarrassed.

Yoosung doesn’t know if he could take another awkward car ride after they just had a decent conversation. 

“Oh… You can use my card. If you want,” He offered hoping Saeran wouldn’t be too proud to refuse.

He looked at Yoosung like he didn’t believe him. Not that he wouldn’t give him his card, but that he had money.

“I’m not _that_ broke!”

Saeran’s expression didn’t change while he grabbed a cart. Well, he isn’t saying no.

“Okay, my parents sent me some money yesterday. So, I have a bit of money,” He finally said.

The other man wasn’t that concerned with spending Yoosung’s parent’s money. He trekked along to the first aisle, Yoosung followed.

“Just save the receipt and the dumbass will pay you back when he comes back from the pharmacy,” Saeran said without looking at him.

Yoosung nodded. Oh yeah. Seven does have an absurdly large amount of money. Last time Seven had to pay him back it was in Honey Buddha chips. He can’t afford that now if they spend a decent amount of money on groceries for both Saeran (and Ray) and Seven. His parents gave him money for his own meals and whatever other expenses he needs to pay. He can’t pay off his credit card in chips.

“He’ll pay me back with money, right?” He just needed to make sure.

Saeran was putting something in the cart but stopped to look at Yoosung like he was stupid. They continued walking once Saeran straightened back up.

“What else would he pay you with?”

Yoosung looked away from Saeran’s eyes. That incident doesn’t make him look very smart.

“Once he paid me back in chips. Don’t get me wrong, I love those chips, but I need that money…”

Saeran put something else in the cart and said, “If he doesn’t give you money, I’ll kick his ass.” Saeran believed that was something his brother would do.

Yoosung couldn’t help but laugh at that. The thought of Saeran and Seven fist fighting over chips was funny to him.

Saeran led the two of them down each aisle. He stopped often to put something new in the cart. Yoosung also snuck in some snacks for his dorm. They were using his card anyways.

Yoosung had never seen this amount of food in Seven’s house. He told Saeran that, to which he replied with something about being the only one who cares about a decent diet. 

The two of them looked like they could be friends to the other patrons in the store. Someday they’ll get there. Yoosung isn’t a big fan of making new friends. He’d rather talk to his fellow RFA members than anyone in his college classes. 

However, Saeran (and Ray) was someone important to the RFA despite not talking to them. This past year they have been frequently asking about how he was adjusting and how his health has been. They, including Yoosung, cared about him like he was a part of the group. 

Yoosung is the first one to meet him… them in person other than Seven. It kind of puts pressure on Yoosung to make a good first impression, which he hasn’t in either time he had the chance to. Other than representing the group, Yoosung finds himself honestly wanting to be friends with someone as interesting as them.

Once they made it to the bakery, Yoosung left Saeran’s side towards the cookies that smelled amazingly sweet. He picked up the package of freshly baked sugar cookies to get a better look at them. It reminded him just how hungry he is at the moment. They never did eat lunch.

Yoosung smiled to himself. He is going to eat this entire thing. Actually, maybe Saeran would want to share them with him.

He turned around and held up the cookies for Saeran to see. The other man gave him a weird look like he was perplexed over something. Something about Saeran was off putting at the moment.

“These look good, do you like this kind of cookie?” Yoosung asked him.

Saeran smiled in an endearing way that Yoosung hadn’t seen on him before.

“I do,” He said in a lighter tone than Yoosung has been used to hearing.

He must be just as excited as Yoosung about the cookies. He put the cookies in the cart. He will eat half of them instead of the whole thing.

Saeran stared at the cart for a solid 30 seconds. Yoosung watched him then sift through the items to get a better look. Were they missing something?

Without confirming or denying Yoosung’s theory, Saeran pushed the cart back the way they came in from. The only thing they got from this section were the cookies. Those couldn’t be the only thing they were coming here for. 

“Didn’t you want something here? Or did we forget something?” Yoosung asks.

Saeran jumps a little, not expecting to be called out, and looks at Yoosung again. There was a moment of silence and then Saeran looked a little uncomfortable. He smiled with his eyes still showing his discomfort.

“Yoosung, It’s uh, nice to see you again,” He said quietly.

It took Yoosung a second to realize why he said that. Oh! It’s his friend that he had already made.

“Ray?” He asked a little excitedly at the thought of seeing him today as well.

Ray(?) looks surprised for a moment then impressed.

“Yeah, sorry about that. It must have been awfully confusing for you,” He confirmed while taking a strand of his hair between his fingers and rolling it around.

Ray began pushing the cart again. Yoosung had a goofy smile on his face and followed beside him. 

“It was a little bit, but I think I got it now,” Yoosung answered.

Ray looked like he didn’t know what he was talking about. Oh right, he doesn’t know anything that happened while Saeran was in control. He adjusted to suddenly being here really quickly. He has to be used to getting put into situations suddenly like this. It must be hard to live like that.

“Got what?” Ray asked.

“That you and Saeran are two different people,” Yoosung replied proudly, anticipating Ray’s reaction.

His pride disappeared immediately when Ray hissed and put his head in his hand. Oh god, he hurt him. He could only watch as Ray struggled to compose himself. He didn’t know what was happening. Should he call Seven? 

Ray snapped him out of his panic when he said with difficulty, “Please… Don’t say his name.”

Yoosung put a hand to his mouth in horror. Seven told him to not call Saeran by his name. What he must have really meant was to not call Ray “Saeran”. Saeran was fine with him saying both names so Yoosung thought this was another overreaction from Seven. Turns out it isn’t. Maybe he shouldn’t disregard _all_ of Seven’s advice. 

It doesn’t sit right with him that Ray can’t hear the name “Saeran”.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t know it would hurt you,” He said worriedly.

Ray breathed out a few times and stood up straight again. Then like nothing happened, Ray pushed the cart again. Yoosung followed him reluctantly, still feeling horrible.

“It’s alright. It doesn’t hurt. It’s just when you say his name it’s like poking him while he’s asleep. He could wake up,” Ray said, not sounding upset at all like Yoosung would have expected.

Okay, good. He wasn’t hurt. He nodded, but still felt a bit of shame at what he had done. 

Ray must have noticed his bout of self-loathing because he smiled with kindness and said, “You didn’t know, like you said. No need to worry about me.”

Is Yoosung worrying about him too much again? He doesn’t want Ray to think he’s patronizing him. What is the appropriate amount of worry for Ray? 

“Sorry, I’m being annoying again, huh?” He said looking off to the side. 

“You aren’t annoying. I like talking to you,” Ray said, sounding somewhat upset now.

Yoosung relaxed at that. Ray seemed more upset at Yoosung thinking he’s annoying than Yoosung actually being annoying. He still can’t help but feel like he had done something wrong. He looked at Ray.

He tried to get the topic to something nicer. “Thanks… We should play video games together sometime.”

He knows he’s been trying to stop, but playing with Ray wouldn’t last as long as the many hours he’s used to playing at a time. He feels like if Ray is anything like his brother, he would be a beast at LOLOL. If he had Ray in his guild, they could crush Seven’s guild easily. That could be very fun. There would also be little to no way for Yoosung to mess anything up. He is the second greatest LOLOL player around.

“Sounds like that could be fun,” Ray replied offhandedly. 

He was busy throwing various boxes and cartons of ice creams into the cart. So, that’s what he was looking for in the cart earlier. Yoosung couldn’t help but smile at the sight of Ray passionately emptying the freezer into the cart. It was cute in a quirky sort of way.

Once satisfied with the number of treats in the cart, Saeran closed the freezer door. Then Yoosung frowned when he saw Saeran frowning.

“Earlier you mentioned me and my other self being two people. Did he tell you that?” Ray asked hesitantly.

Yoosung didn’t expect this question so suddenly. Was that a bad thing if Saeran did say that? He can’t imagine why that would be the case. He looked at another freezer mindlessly, not wanting to stare Ray in the eyes to see his reaction.

“He did, but I believe that too.” Yoosung told no lies there. They are two people to him, even if he doesn’t fully understand it.

Ray studied him, not like how Saeran does. When Ray does that it’s like he’s trying to uncover a hidden part of Yoosung he can’t see. When Saeran does that it’s like he’s sizing Yoosung up like he’s a potential threat… or checking him out, but the first one is much more likely.

“Is that… is that okay?” Yoosung asks Ray after he didn’t say anything.

Ray blinks back like he didn’t realize he was staring.

Ray starts. “I don’t know. I can’t remember anything he experiences, but for some reason-“ Then cut himself off like he said too much.

Yoosung tilted his head a little bit in question. Why did he stop? Yoosung was ready for more information. He hasn’t been this excited to learn about anything like he is with Saeran and Ray; not even in any of his classes. If he knows more about what they go through, he can better understand them. Would that not make Ray and Saeran happy?

Ray continued speaking despite his apparent debate he was having with himself, “This time us switching places felt more… easy? Almost like he was satisfied when he left. I’m used to him fighting really hard to stay awake. So hard that my head hurts when he does fall asleep, but this time I feel good. I’m not used to it.”

Yoosung listened closely in awe. He can’t be the reason for Saeran leaving “satisfied”, can he? Saeran only seemed to tolerate him more than anything else. But Ray was hinting at something else.

“You two really are different people,” Yoosung couldn’t stop himself from saying, “Even just talking to you now compared to who I talked to ten minutes ago; I can tell you’re different.”

Ray looked at him curiously, “How so?”

It was easy to explain the differences he had seen so far, “You talk more than he does and the way you speak is completely different too.”

He didn’t even mention their different clothes, different hairstyle, different facial expression, different posture, and different smiles.

Ray didn’t look pleased or displeased to hear this. If anything, he was still trying to figure it out. 

“Shall we check out now?” He said, completely disregarding the whole last part of their conversation.

Yoosung is taken aback before saying, “Oh! Yeah, sure. Let me-“

Then he pulled his wallet out of his jeans and handed his credit card to Ray. Ray looks at it in his hand like he was just given something he never seen before. Once again, Yoosung forgot he didn’t know about what happened before.

“Seven’s paying me back, it’s okay!”

Ray now understood and smiled. Then he nodded and steered them to the self-checkout. They have a lot of stuff, but Ray must not want to talk to anyone else right now. 

Yoosung put the groceries in the bags after Ray scanned them. The both of them smiled and made small talk while they worked together. It was nice. It made Yoosung not want to go home or for Seven to come back. 

Oh god, Seven’s going to be so mad, isn’t he?


	4. Chapter 2 (B): Saeran, Meet Yoosung

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saeran gets his turn at meeting and spending time with Yoosung.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Saeran and Ray's POV! Sorry it isn't too different from the A version. I can promise you that their stories diverge a lot more in chapter 3. Stick around if you want to take a look into their thoughts. I won't judge if you don't want to though.
> 
> Once again, thank you for reading after my long absence. It means a lot to me.
> 
> (UPDATE) You probably noticed I changed the order of the chapters. Yoosung's POV comes first and is now the A chapters instead of the B chapters. I just kept thinking that it would be chronologically better if Yoosung's POV came before Ray/Saeran's for many upcoming reasons. So, keep that in mind for the next chapter.

Saeran is not having a very good day.

Well, he was having a good day until he noticed his brother coming up to him with that look on his face. He recognized the look immediately as the “you’re probably not going to like what I’m about to tell you” look. He scowled at his brother before returning his attention back to his laptop screen. If it isn’t important, Saeyoung will hopefully just leave him alone.

His brother sighed audibly and began saying, “Hey so, uh, you’re almost out of medicine. I have to go to the pharmacy to pick up some more. I know that you and Yoosung had a good time hanging out last time so-“

Saeran interrupted him by slamming his laptop shut and once again glaring back up at him before harshly saying, “You want him to babysit me again?”

He can already feel a headache coming on in anticipation of an argument. They have a similar argument every time Saeyoung decides Saeran can’t take proper care of himself on his own. And apparently today Saeran can’t take care of himself while Saeyoung goes to the pharmacy. Sure, the only pharmacy that carries his specific medication is an hour and a half away, but he’s been alone longer than that before on numerous occasions.

As predicted, Saeyoung nervously looked off to the side and rubbed his neck. What a coward.

“It’s not babysitting. I just thought maybe you’d enjoy the company,” Saeyoung replied while trying to be convincing. Probably to convince himself more than Saeran. Trying to convince Saeran at this point is a lost cause.

“And if I refuse this ‘company’?” Saeran challenged. He already knew the answer, but he isn’t the type to back down easily.

“… Well, I just know you’re having a bad day and I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Saeran scoffs and puts his laptop on the table before it can accidently fall off during his incoming rage.

“I knew it. You really do treat me like a damn toddler all the time, you know that? I’m not going to put a fork into the electric socket the moment you leave. It’s really fucking embarrassing to be treated the way you treat me,” He seethed and stood up to properly face his brother.

The coward finally looks at him again. Then he pathetically pleads, “You know I don’t mean for it to sound that way. I just want you to be safe and happy. You’re the single most important thing in my life and I don’t want to lose you again.”

He looks like he could shed some tears if pushed a little more. It might tug at Saeran’s heartstrings if Saeyoung didn’t say and do this every time he was mad at him. He’s become desensitized to the sappy shit Saeyoung says while trying to convince him to follow instructions.

He could criticize and pick apart every part of said sappy shit, but he’s already done that before. This time he chose to flat out ignore it and bring up another point, “I wasn’t even having a “bad day” until you started your shit. You always think I’m having a bad day when I’m just existing.”

It’s true that Saeran finds himself suddenly conscious when things take a turn for the worst for his other self; another reason why Ray is a piece of shit. Other times he just wakes up like this or is brought to be in control for seemingly no real reason at all. On some occasions he can feel antsy all of a sudden and push his way into waking up, those are his favorites. It feels like he has some sort of control over his life when he does that.

Whenever Saeyoung notices that he isn’t the airhead, he assumes that Saeran’s having a bad day. That normally isn’t true at all. Saeran loves being in control of their body and when he’s awake it puts him in a good mood if nothing obviously terrible is happening.

This new topic seemed to have spooked Saeyoung even further, because he looked thoroughly surprised before only saying, “I’m going to call Yoosung,” and leaving for his room. Once again, he took in almost nothing Saeran said to him.

Saeran furiously shouted after him, unable to hold himself back, “Go ahead and run away again, you piece of shit! That’s always been a trend with you, hasn’t it?! Just go on and fucking ignore me like you always do! You can’t even say my own name to my face! You really want me to be ‘safe and happy’, huh? Do I sound fucking happy to you, Saeyoung? Keep telling yourself that you’re doing what’s best for me like I know you will. I bet all of your friends think you’re such a saint for taking care of your psychotic, “delusional” brother!”

By the time he was done screaming he was red in the face and panting. Saeyoung never responded to any of his taunts and was in his room halfway through Saeran’s ranting. He closed his eyes and focused all of his thoughts on breathing properly. He had to calm himself down before Saeyoung thought he was going to do something stupid and hurt himself.

Once his breathing was even, he laid on the couch and watched the ceiling. There wasn’t anything special up there, but he couldn’t bring himself to grab his laptop again. He wants no distractions while sorting out his thoughts. Jumbled thoughts could lead to Ray waking up.

Saeran already felt awful about what he said to his brother. Everything he mentioned was something he knew Saeyoung felt terrible about. That seems to be a specialty of his, using someone’s weaknesses against them just to be a dick. He shouldn’t have said any of it.

His outbursts are something that has always been a work in progress. The therapist that he sees told him that it’s a defense mechanism, and an unhealthy one at that. No wonder Ray is Saeyoung’s favorite out of the two freaks sharing this body.

He doesn’t even know why he feels as bad as he does. Nothing he says ever seems to get through to Saeyoung anyway. His brother likes to believe that pretending Saeran doesn’t exist will make him go away eventually.

He has a feeling his therapist gave him that advice. She’s always talking to him behind Saeran’s back. If his brother loves him so much, then why does he listen to her more than him? He isn’t so crazy that he can’t be listened to.

Normally, she wouldn’t even be allowed to do that, but on his patient sheet he’s described as “potentially dangerous to himself and others” so she can break confidentiality whenever she wants. That’s a load of shit. Saeran is no more dangerous than Ray, and Ray feels guilt when one of his flowers starts wilting.

Tough shit, Saeran doesn’t feel like watering his stupid plants when he’s in control.

The sound of a door opening is heard somewhere behind Saeran. Saeyoung left his room. Sure enough, his brother was then briefly in his view. He was walking towards the front door with a stiff neutral expression. He does that when he doesn't want anyone to see his true emotions. Too bad Saeran sees through that mask like it’s nothing.

He’s probably on his way to pick up his babysitter for the next few hours. Saeran should really apologize for being an asshole. He sits up and says hurriedly without much thought, “Hey!”

Saeyoung doesn’t say anything back but looks at Saeran expectantly.

“Uh, Are you going to get Yoosung?” He said. That isn’t an apology. Maybe he can just lead up to it.

His brother shifts his weight a bit. Clearly uncomfortable with being in his brother’s presence right now. Then he said, “I am. Is that okay?”

Ignoring the urge to tell him he isn’t fucking unstable enough to need constant company, he responded with, “Yeah, fine.”

Saeyoung smiles and says a bit unsure of himself, “I’m dropping him off here and then I’ll see you in a little while.”

“See you,” He says back with no noticeable malice in his voice.

Then his brother is out the door. Well, that wasn’t an apology. It was close enough. They talked like normal people so that should count as everything being fine. Mission accomplished.

Not too long later, the giant metal door opened, and he only heard one set of footsteps enter the house. Saeyoung must have turned off the security system for Yoosung. Either that or the dumbass forgot something and came back to get it.

A moment later and Yoosung was standing in front of him and the couch he was sitting on. He was smiling brightly despite their tense meeting last time. Saeran just looked up from his laptop screen and raised an eyebrow in question.

Annoyingly, there was a thought that appeared in his mind that didn’t belong to him at the sight of the timid looking man. The thought was an exclamation of excitement. Saeran can feel Ray in the back of his mind pathetically try to shove his way to the front. It was easy to quickly push Ray back to sleep.

With his attention now fully on Yoosung, he realizes he doesn’t know how to interact with him. He obviously met Ray last time and then Saeran scared him off when he woke up.

He would hope for Yoosung to leave him alone, but that smile and nervous hand twiddling the blonde is doing suggests he’s psyching himself up to speak. Hopefully whatever mundane conversation they’re about to have is quick and painless.

Yoosung then said something that Saeran didn’t expect to hear, “You’re Saeran, right?”

Saeran could only gawk at the other man. Why did he ask that? Was he a moron? Maybe he didn’t meet Ray last time at all and Ray’s consciousness took a backseat as soon as he saw Yoosung. Coward. But that wouldn’t make sense. Why would Ray try to wake up with Yoosung here if he fled from him last time?

Saeran decided to be at least mildly polite to Yoosung as an apology for the last time they met. He did almost make him cry. Though in Saeran’s opinion he said nothing that anyone could cry over; there were no insults or yelling.

“Yeah,” Was what was said. Well, it was polite response compared to how Saeran usually answers dumb questions.

Yoosung seemed relieved by this answer. He put a hand to his chest and let out a breath he was holding. He might have been expecting a snappy retort.

Once again, Saeran was surprised by his response.

“Oh good! I got it right then.” He smiled, proud of himself while Saeran was even more confused.

There’s no way he could be mistaken for anyone else because him and Saeyoung don’t look much alike at the moment. Well, there is one person who he could be mistaken for, but Yoosung doesn’t know about that. So, what does he mean by “getting it right”?

Yoosung realized that Saeran wasn’t going to say anything so he continued, “I’m Yoosung, by the way, but you probably already knew that. Nice to meet you, Saeran.”

He shifted on his feet uncomfortably after his introduction. Patiently, he waited for Saeran’s response.

Saeran’s brain refused to put together the puzzle pieces that were laid in front of him. None of this conversation made sense and he himself had only said one word in its entirety.

“We met already, right?” Saeran asked dubiously.

Yoosung nodded with an uncertain smile then said, “We did, I think, but I introduced myself to Ray, not you.” His tone revealed his hesitation to say what he just said.

Saeran’s eyes go wide and he’s sure his heart stops beating when he really took in what the other man said. He does know about them. How? Ray wouldn’t say something about him and Saeyoung certainly wouldn’t either.

Saeran stands up, unable to be below eye-level with Yoosung any longer. He’s looking for answers now. Yoosung takes a step back nervously at seeing his sudden movement.

“Um, if I got something wrong-“

“What’s your goal here? Huh?” Saeran asks maybe too accusingly. “How do you know about that?”

Saeran’s thoughts immediately go to the worst-case scenario. If his brother and his other self won’t talk about him then it has to be either V, MC, or the Savior. Those three are the only other people who even know about Saeran sharing a body.

It’s probably V with the others being terrified of him and being in prison, in that order. Why would _he_ talk about him? He’s supposed to be living a happy life with his girlfriend, away from Saeran.

Yoosung put his hands in front of his face and closed his eyes like he’s about to be hit.

“Seven told me! I’m just trying to be nice. I’m sorry!” He rushed to say, eyes still closed.

Oh.

That’s new. He should have known it was nothing serious. Those rash thoughts have kept him safe many times in the past, so they most likely won’t go away anytime soon.

“Why was he talking about me?” Saeran asked considerably calmer now that he knows his past enemies aren’t trying to interfere with his life again. He can tell Yoosung isn’t lying either.

Still bracing himself, Yoosung said, “I got confused and asked why you had two names… I’m sorry.”

“I’m not going to hurt you, dumbass. You can open your eyes,” Saeran said impatiently. Saeyoung must have also mentioned he’s “dangerously insane” to Yoosung. How annoying.

He did as he was told and then smiled apologetically. “Sorry again.”

Saeran ignored his… what he believes is Yoosung’s third apology today. Instead he opted to learn more about this attitude Yoosung has about him. He talked about the both of them to his brother and still chose to refer to Saeran and Ray as separate people. That’s weird and makes him wonder.

Yoosung isn’t the manipulative type. More likely he’s the type to _be_ manipulated.

“Did Saeyoung tell you to pretend Ray and I are the same person?” Saeran asked this more gently than he’s used to speaking. Yoosung has already been made to think Saeran is scary and he doesn’t need to encourage that. He has no need to make Yoosung fear him… yet.

Yoosung looked away for a moment, frowning. He can tell that’s a “yes” without Yoosung needing to say anything, but he let him speak anyway when he faced Saeran again.

“Something like that, yeah.”

“And you decided to just ignore him completely and do whatever you wanted?”

Yoosung flinched at this like the accusation stung him. He began to say with mixed emotion, “I… You’re right. I should have-“

Saeran knew he couldn’t bear to hear whatever garbage Yoosung was about to say and cut him off with a firm, “Shut up.”

He did and looked into Saeran’s eyes curiously. He was considerably less hurt-looking at being told to shut up now than he did last time.

Saeran squared his shoulders to help emphasize the point he was about to make. “I didn’t mean it as a bad thing. My brother is the dumbest piece of shit I know. You shouldn’t listen to him.”

He took a step into Yoosung’s personal space to get him just a tad on edge. Not enough to scare him, but enough so that he remembers nice and good what he’s about to say. If Yoosung took another step back his back would be against the wall. Saeran debated putting his hand on the wall to trap him there, but he wants to prove he’s intimidating, not frightening.

“Do not ever doubt what I am about to say to you, or I will be very upset. You don’t want that, do you?” Saeran spoke in a low voice.

Okay, he may be laying it on a little thick here, but he hasn’t had a chance to use this particular skill of his in a long time. And Yoosung is looking at him with his big doe-like eyes and shaking his head “no”. It makes Saeran feel powerful, he loves it. For Yoosung’s sake he won’t drag it out anymore.

“Good. I am one person. Ray is another person, one that I would be embarrassed to call me. It’s not that confusing so don’t think about it too hard. Treat us as such and I’ll be happy.” Saeran finished and then stepped back to give Yoosung room to breathe.

The other man let his shoulders slump after tensing them for so long. He’s still staring at Saeran like he’s about to be eaten. He didn’t go that hard. Oh right, Yoosung is the sensitive one in the RFA. Ugh, he just remembered Yoosung is in the RFA.

Deciding Yoosung would do better with even more space, Saeran turned and began making his way towards the kitchen to make himself some lunch.

“Do you want something to eat?” He called over his shoulder once he’s in the kitchen. See? Look at that. He’s a decent human being.

He opened the fridge and looked inside. At the sight of an almost completely empty fridge, Saeran frowned. The only thing in here are cans of Ph D. Pepper.

“I am a little hungry now that you mention it. I didn’t have lunch yet.” Yoosung said beside him.

Saeran jumped at Yoosung just being there all of a sudden. How did he not hear him come over here? His survival instincts are getting rusty. That isn’t good, especially around people from his past like this.

The urge to snap at him is ignored. Yoosung so far has been the only one willing to call Saeran a person. Well, except for one other, but he refuses to think about her more than necessary if he can help it. Even if Yoosung is only going to speak to him today, and happens to be in the RFA, he doesn’t want to waste that opportunity.

On the other hand, Yoosung could also use that vulnerability to his advantage. Saeran refuses to be controlled again by anyone. He should just take it slow for now and see if the “good boy” act is just that, an act.

Saeran shut the refrigerator door and opened the freezer. As expected, there’s only frozen pizzas in there. Groaning, he shut that too.

He moved over to the cupboards and opened them. If they have flour, he can make some pancakes. Of course, the only thing in the cupboards are chips and a bag of salt to refill the shakers with.

Saeran sighed overdramatically in annoyance.

“How do we only have two options in this house?” He grumbles to no one in particular.

“Well… I do really like Honey Buddha Chips.” Yoosung suggests in a small voice.

Saeran is about to toss him a bag out of courtesy when he realizes something. His brother is gone, and he has a guest here that would most likely not refuse his requests because of his desire to be kind. Perfect opportunity to get some fresh air… and more food for this godforsaken bunker.

He put on a smile he hoped was sweet enough and faced Yoosung. “How about instead you help me shop for groceries?”

The uncomfortable hesitation appeared on Yoosung’s face as soon as the words left Saeran’s mouth. Saeran could feel the corner of his lips twitch in frustration, but he waited for the rejection anyways.

“Is that…” Yoosung started to ask before he cut himself off. There was a pause and then Yoosung said, “Okay, sure.”

Boy isn’t he full of surprises? Saeran’s smile suddenly felt much less forced. Looks like Yoosung took his advice to heart about listening to his brother. That was easier than it should have been.

“Great, let’s get to it then,” Saeran said and moved past Yoosung out of the kitchen. He stopped to grab a set of his brother’s car keys. He won’t know which car it is until they get into the garage. As long as it’s any of them but the tacky one with the stripes, Saeran will be happy.

Yoosung followed Saeran to the garage with no complaints. Saeran can tell he still has mixed feelings about this based on his tense expression. Now would probably be a terrible time to tell him he doesn’t have a license.

Once in the garage, Saeran hits the unlock button on the keys and he’s pleased to see the sleek silver car’s lights blink. He enters the driver’s seat and Yoosung gets in the passenger seat. The first thing Yoosung does before even closing the door is put his seatbelt on. Saeran would laugh if he wasn’t also mildly offended.

Despite the lack of a license, Saeran is a better driver than his brother. He obeys traffic laws and doesn’t show off.

The car exits the garage and suddenly the two of them were on the open road. Saeran rolls the windows down to breathe in the non-bunker air.

Despite it being very temporary, the sense of freedom makes up for having a babysitter. Now that he thinks about it, Yoosung hasn’t been doing a very good job babysitting. He’s letting Saeran walk all over him. Saeran isn’t complaining.

“So… how have you been today?” Yoosung said awkwardly.

Saeran rolls his eyes. Of course, he speaks now that Saeran started somewhat enjoying having him around.

“Fine.”

“That’s good.”

“Uh huh.”

The conversation stopped. Yoosung has gotten the hint that Saeran isn’t, nor really is ever in the mood to talk. Saeran is usually comfortable with being silent around others, but right now he isn’t. It could be because they’re stuck in a tiny vehicle together. It does feel a little claustrophobic.

Figuring some music would help, Saeran turned on the radio. His ears are assaulted by an unknown upbeat pop song. He shut the radio off almost immediately. His brother has terrible taste in music.

“Ew,” he said to himself grouchily.

Yoosung huffed out a laugh next to him.

Then they’re in silence once again. The atmosphere is too tense right now. Saeran decided to test the waters to see if he could get some information out of his guest. It’s another one of his specialties.

“Are the RFA holding anymore parties soon?” It’s a genuine question. He wants Saeyoung to have an excuse to leave the house.

He can see Yoosung become more alert at the sudden question in the corner of his eye.

“Oh! Uh, Not really. V and MC are still in Alaska. They said when they get back, we can hold more parties though.”

Saeran hummed in response. He didn’t know V and MC were in another country. It made Saeran feel even more bitter about his situation. How is he the only survivor of the Mint Eye incident practically on house arrest?

“Do you want to go to one?” Yoosung asked in a slightly hopeful tone.

The response was automatic, “I’d rather die.”

Yoosung was very much taken aback by this because all he could say was, “Oh uh, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Saeran said to reassure Yoosung that he isn’t a real danger to himself.

Yoosung was picking at his fingernails. He must feel a little on edge at the moment. Saeran does the same thing when he feels that way. Maybe saying he’d rather be dead than go to an RFA party was too much, at least for Yoosung. Saeran wonders if him insulting the parties were more offensive to Yoosung than making a joke about his death.

“Can I ask you something? If you don’t mind,” Yoosung asked in that same cautious tone Saeran was getting used to.

“Depends.” It depends if it’s dumb or not.

“About uh, you and Ray?”

How can he be so bold yet so timid at the same time? If he didn’t already astonish Saeran a few times today he would be astonished once more.

“Depends.” It depends on if it’s too personal.

“Promise to tell me if you don’t like the question?” The other man asked in a tone Saeran didn’t recognize. Determination? Anticipation?

Saeran resists the urge to roll his eyes, “I was going to do that anyways.”

Yoosung nods once. “Which one of you came first?”

Saeran now resists the urge to tell a gross joke. He’s better than that. He’s better than his brother.

It takes Saeran a moment to think about the answer. Their existence is confusing, at least to Saeran. He has no idea if it’s easier for Ray to understand. Probably not, he doesn’t understand anything.

He finds an answer that sounds right in his head, “Both.”

A glance at Yoosung shows that he’s still pretty confused with this answer, but there’s something else there. He looks puzzled but more in a way that he can’t figure out a crossword than in a way where he had just seen a freak of nature. A sense of open-mindedness is there that Saeran isn’t used to seeing. Yoosung, at least for now, is willing to learn.

When he isn’t ranting, Saeran is accustomed to giving short answers or statements to people he doesn’t trust. So, it’s odd to him that he felt the need to build off of his answer after seeing that look on Yoosung’s face.

“We used to be one person. Then something happened and suddenly I was asleep for a long time. A month at least. Then I woke up, but Saeyoung told me that I hadn’t been asleep. None of us understood it. None of us understand it still,” He explained without showing emotion.

He left out the parts where he’d wake up with cuts and bruises that he didn’t remember getting. And the parts where he’d stop being conscious when he heard his bitch of a mother coming up the stairs. And the parts where the Savior knew exactly what was happening between them and would use it to her advantage. And the parts where Ray would take revenge by waking Saeran up during the worst times at Mint Eye. And the parts where…

There are too many parts. Just like them. Too many parts. They should be one, not two. But while there are too many parts, while they are two, they survive just fine.

“That sounds scary. Being asleep for half of your life,” Yoosung said in an attempt to sympathize.

In his thoughts, Saeran almost forgot that Yoosung was there. That has the potential to be scarier than the thought of Ray being in control for most of their life.

“More than half. I’m not out as often as the airhead. You just got unlucky today I guess,” Saeran replied simply and once again lacked proper emotion for such a deep topic. If there’s emotion, then Yoosung would know he could use it against him.

Yoosung’s body turned to fully face Saeran.

“Why would you call that unlucky?” He asked with almost an offended tone in his voice.

Saeran quirked up an eyebrow in question to the heated answer. “Ray is everyone’s favorite.”

At least he’s everyone’s favorite that knows about them. Saeyoung is always uncomfortable around Saeran; he was never like that when they were kids. His therapist always has more to say to Ray than him. The Savior, he’s got to quit calling her that, liked Ray more because he was obedient and didn’t see the very worst sides of her cult. V would call them Saeran, but Saeran knew he had to find Ray more pleasant. MC was scared of him the entire time she knew him. And he already made Yoosung fear him and almost made him cry.

He doesn’t take it to heart too much. He’s seen the movies where a character has multiple personalities. There’s always an evil one and Saeran happens to fit that category best. He’s defensive, angry all the time, and has been told he’s scary when he goes on his tangents. Ray is just a nervous idiot who likes to garden and eat ice cream. Saeran likes ice cream too, but it isn’t his entire thing.

“I just met you two. I don’t have a favorite,” Yoosung said, possibly lying.

“You will,” Saeran replied, not at all feeling like arguing about his self-worth.

They approached the grocery store and Saeran parked without much trouble.

“I can be friends with both of you, you know,” Yoosung finally replied.

Saeran undid his seatbelt, rolled his eyes, and breathed out a sarcastic laugh. Yoosung watched him with critical eyes at his reaction. It made Saeran want to say something unkind. There are many options that crossed his mind that he could say to reply to Yoosung.

You aren’t my friend.

We won’t ever be friends.

I’ll scare you away eventually.

What are you trying to accomplish? What use do you have for me?

Fuck off.

“I don’t make friends very easily,” Is what comes out of Saeran’s mouth instead. He said it too kindly in his opinion. It’ll just give Yoosung false hope.

Yoosung undid his seatbelt too and challenged, “Well, I guess we’ll have to work towards it then.”

That scared man that Saeran had cornered no less than 20 minutes ago is gone. Replaced with a determined, fiery look-a-like. This is usually the part where Saeran builds his walls back up at being confronted, but there is no malice in Yoosung’s voice or expression.

Saeran left the car with a small smile and a, “We’ll see.” Weird.

Yoosung smiled brightly and followed Saeran to the entrance of the store.

Once inside Saeran realized something and swore under his breath.

“What is it?” Yoosung asked beside him, mildly concerned.

“I forgot the cash at home,” He said, pissed. At himself more than anything else. He was too excited to leave the bunker.

“Oh… You can use my card. If you want,” Yoosung suggested.

Saeran only gave him a doubtful look.

“I’m not _that_ broke!” He said with a trace of agitation. Not enough to be serious about it.

Saeran grabbed a cart and didn’t say anything. It’s cold in here. If Ray would eat regularly maybe he wouldn’t be.

“Okay, my parents sent me some money yesterday. So, I have a bit of money,” Yoosung explained.

Good enough for Saeran. “Just save the receipt and the dumbass will pay you back when he comes back from the pharmacy.”

Yoosung nodded from his side, twiddling his fingers over something.

“He’ll pay me back with money, right?”

Saeran shot him a questioning look while he put a bag of flour in the cart.

“What else would he pay you with?”

“Once he paid me back in chips. Don’t get me wrong, I love those chips, but I need that money…” Yoosung said trailing off.

Saeran put a box of pasta in the cart, “If he doesn’t give you money, I’ll kick his ass.”

Yoosung laughed at that, not knowing that Saeran was semi-serious. He wouldn’t physically kick his ass, but he’d curse him out for a while.

They made their way through the various aisles in comfortable silence. Yoosung had some comments here and there to which Saeran would respond briefly if needed. The cart became fuller with each new row of goods. Yoosung also put some snacks for himself in the cart much to Saeran’s amusement. It’s Saeyoung’s money after all.

Then they reached the bakery. Saeran was going there for some fresh bread. Stepping into the new aisle almost immediately made his vision blur.

Ah shit. So damn annoying. He was having a surprisingly good time too.

* * *

Ray was taken aback by the sudden bright lights and the chill on his skin. He was a step away from panicking when his rapidly moving pupils settled on the bread rack in front of him.

Wow. He isn’t at home.

He looked around for his brother but was shocked to see Yoosung instead. The man smiled and held up a package of sugar cookies for Ray to see.

“These look good, do you like this kind of cookie?” He asked warmly.

Has Yoosung been shopping with his other self? He must have, but why does he seem happy to be here? He doesn’t look like he was forced into this at all. No noticeable injuries either. His brother is also nowhere in sight.

“I do,” Ray responded just as warmly and smiled back.

Might as well make the most of this unusual event. His friend is hanging out with him again, after all. At least, Ray thinks they’re friends. He understands if Yoosung doesn’t want that though. There are multiple reasons why he wouldn’t want to be.

Yoosung wordlessly put the package into the cart. The cart is pretty full. They must have been doing this for a while. Ray examined each item briefly. Plenty of variety, but a noticeable lack of sweets. The cookies are the first sweet thing there. That won’t do.

Ray began to push the cart in the direction of the freezer aisle.

“Didn’t you want something here? Or did we forget something?” Yoosung asks.

Yoosung hasn’t noticed he isn’t his other self yet. Does he even know that Ray wasn’t conscious? He did fall asleep rather abruptly last time. This is going to be a little embarrassing.

“Yoosung, It’s uh, nice to see you again,” Ray says a little quietly with a now uncomfortable smile on his face.

The other man looks at him questioningly. Ray almost panics again. Then it looks like Yoosung found the answer to his unspoken question and his eyes lit up.

“Ray?” He said hopefully.

He gets it! How? Ray has no idea, but he won’t question it now. He’s more relieved he doesn’t have to explain himself.

“Yeah, sorry about that. It must have been awfully confusing for you,” Ray replied and started playing with the ends of his hair.

He can already feel that his hair is much messier than he’d like it to be.

Together they walked, Ray pushing the cart out of the bakery aisle, forgetting that there was probably a reason why they were there in the first place.

“It was a little bit, but I think I got it now,” Yoosung replied.

“Got what?” Ray asked, genuinely wondering what he meant.

“That you and Saeran are two different people,” Yoosung said simply, somewhat proud of himself.

At hearing that name a pulse of dizziness wracked through Ray’s head. His hand went up to push against his forehead.

“Please… Don’t say his name,” Ray uttered with some effort.

Yoosung’s hand went to his mouth. “I’m sorry! I didn’t know it would hurt you,” He said worriedly.

A moment passed and so did the dizziness. Good. He put both hands back on the cart and started walking again. Yoosung reluctantly followed. He looked terribly guilty like he did on their first day meeting.

“It’s alright. It doesn’t hurt. It’s just when you say his name it’s like poking him while he’s asleep. He could wake up,” Ray explained softly after seeing the distress on Yoosung’s face.

Yoosung nodded, still looking very unsure of himself.

“You didn’t know, like you said. No need to worry about me,” Ray reassured and shot Yoosung a smile to emphasize his words.

“Sorry, I’m being annoying again, huh?” Yoosung said and looked off to the side.

Ray frowned. Did his other self say that to him? “You aren’t annoying. I like talking to you.”

Yoosung finally began to relax. He looked back at Ray. “Thanks… We should play video games together sometime.”

That’s a sudden topic switch. Not that Ray minds. He’s never had time to play games during… well his entire life. He could play now, but then his brother would probably want to watch or play with him. That’s too much pressure for what’s supposed to be a mind-numbing pastime. For some reason, it feels like it would be easier to play with Yoosung than it would with Saeyoung… Plus it gave him another excuse to hang out with Yoosung.

“Sounds like that could be fun,” Ray replied while he opened the freezer with all the ice creams in it.

Once he was done piling frozen sweets into the cart, he remembered something that flew over his head. Something that he should probably address.

“Earlier,” Ray began hesitantly, “You mentioned me and my other self being two people. Did he tell you that?”

Yoosung’s eyes widened slightly at the unexpected question. Then he looked a little anxious.

“He did, but I believe that too,” He said while looking off to the side, examining the frozen vegetables like they were more interesting than anything else.

Ray had no clue what to think of this. No one has viewed them like that before. His more aggressive self is, in many ways, like a tumor that grew within him. He’s heard some horror stories about what he’s done when he’s unconscious. Yoosung just saw him as another person.

Could that be the reason he doesn’t currently have a splitting headache like he does any other time he wakes up?

“Is that… is that okay?” Yoosung asked, breaking Ray out of his train of thought.

He must have been thinking for longer than he thought. They should check out before the ice cream starts to melt.

“I don’t know. I can’t remember anything he experiences, but for some reason-“ He doesn’t know if he should continue. His therapist wouldn’t be happy if she knew he was entertaining these thoughts.

Yoosung tilted his head to the side, questioning why Ray stopped. His eyes sparkled a little more at this angle. With an expression like that, Ray doesn’t want to keep any secrets from Yoosung.

“This time us switching places felt more… easy? Almost like he was satisfied when he left. I’m used to him fighting really hard to stay awake. So hard that my head hurts when he does fall asleep, but this time I feel good. I’m not used to it,” Ray finished.

“You two really are different people,” Yoosung says with an expression of awe, “Even just talking to you now compared to who I talked to ten minutes ago; I can tell you’re different.”

“How so?” Ray was genuinely curious. He still doesn’t know how to feel about Yoosung’s opinion.

“You talk more than he does and the way you speak is completely different too,” He explained enthusiastically.

Ray doesn’t know if he means that in a good way or not. Hopefully good. He’s afraid of hearing what he doesn’t want to hear if they speak more about this. So, he changes focus.

“Shall we check out now?”

Yoosung’s mouth makes an “o” shape before he says, “Oh! Yeah, sure. Let me-“

He started digging into his pocket and fished out his wallet. Ray is surprised to be given his credit card. Did his other self make him pay?

Yoosung sensed his question and answered, “Seven’s paying me back, it’s okay!”

Ray smiles and nods in response. Looks like they had all the bases covered. Ray just kind of showed up for the ride. Certainly, he isn’t complaining about that. There’s almost no stress and he got to see Yoosung again.

He isn’t used to being put in a win/win situation by his other self, Saeran. Possibly if Yoosung is around him more Ray could get used to this.


	5. Chapter 3 (A): Friendship Fractured and Friendship Anew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yoosung gets an upsetting phone call and then an unexpected guest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey! Sorry this chapter is a little shorter, it's for a good reason, I promise! 
> 
> Like I mentioned before Yoosung and Saeran's chapters have been swapped for many reasons that will make sense. So, Yoosung's chapters come first and are now the (A) chapters and Ray/Saeran/Both's chapters are now the (B) chapters.
> 
> IMPORTANT NOTE: Before, reading both chapters were optional if you wanted to read both perspectives. In my opinion, reading both chapters are necessary for this one. IT IS BEST IF YOU READ BOTH PARTS OF CHAPTER 3! YOU WILL NOT GET ALL INFORMATION WITHOUT READING BOTH! That being said, the (B) chapter will be coming in the next 48 hours.

After Yoosung had gotten home from the grocery trip he took with Saeran and Ray, he found that the two wouldn’t leave his mind.

When he plays LOLOL, he imagines Ray playing with him. When he eats something, he wonders if Saeran would like it too. When Seven joins the messenger, he thinks about what they might be doing while Seven is talking to them. Thoughts like those have plagued Yoosung and he can’t figure out why.

He has some guesses. It could be simply because there are two new people in his life, one a friend and the other someone he’s determined to make his friend. It could also be that they’re two people in one; the uniqueness of it all could have drawn him in. It might even have something to do with knowing a secret that almost no one else knows. 

Another thing it could be, something Yoosung hopes isn’t the case, is the praise he gets from Seven for making Saeran and Ray happy. When Seven came home after their trip, he wasn’t mad at all. At first, he was a little skeptical of them leaving the house together. Then he was so proud of Ray that Ray was visibly a little embarrassed and put the rest of the groceries away with a red tint to his cheeks.

Then he gave Yoosung a hug and thanked him for going shopping with his brother. He also gave Yoosung his money back on the very same day without any jokes or pranks like Yoosung is used to. When he drove Yoosung home he kept gushing about how far his brother is coming along in progress and how they’re all going to spend time together. Yoosung didn’t talk about how he spent time with both parts of his brother.

He doesn’t think he’s _that_ eager for compliments that he would obsess over his friend’s brother. None of his other guesses felt right either.

Today it’s Tuesday, a couple of days after the trip, and he’s still thinking about them now. Well, he’s actually thinking about asking Seven to hang out and play video games with him. But if Saeran or Ray happen to come out of their room for any reason, Yoosung won’t complain. Maybe they could all play together. Saeran might not want to though, he seems to be more tense towards Seven than Ray is.

Well, he can still have fun with Seven by himself like he usually does. Yoosung picks up his phone from his desk and sends a text to Seven. 

A half minute later and his phone rings. It’s Seven. Weird. He usually doesn’t respond to his texts with a phone call.

Yoosung taps the accept call button and holds the phone to his ear.

“Hey, Seven! Did you read my message?” He says cheerfully.

“Yoosung, We need to have a talk about something,” Seven says, uncharacteristically serious.

Yoosung’s smile drops. He’s upset with him. That’s what that tone means. But, why? His thoughts flicker to Saeran and Ray for a moment. Did something happen with them? Did they get something they are allergic to at the store?

Yoosung, stuck in his now racing thoughts, couldn’t find a way to respond to that.

“Saeran was at his therapist today and he mentioned you two talking about him and his… condition,” Seven continued without waiting for Yoosung.

Yoosung frowned deeper. How did Seven know about that? Saeran wouldn’t tell Seven if he knew he was going to be upset. It was supposed to stay between them. That was what Yoosung thought at least. Does he know about the threat Saeran made too?

“Okay…” Yoosung said, trying not to show dread in his voice.

“Okay? Yoosung that isn’t okay. You encouraged his delusional state. He had a meltdown at his therapy appointment. The therapist said it was like he took ten steps back.” 

Yoosung never heard Seven actually get angry before in the years they’ve known each other. This is a first for Yoosung and it's directed right at him.

Yoosung felt horribly guilty like a child who broke his mom’s gold necklace. That was until Seven mentioned the “delusions”. Ray and Saeran aren’t delusional. How does their therapist not even see that? Hell, how does their own brother not see that? Could it be called a “meltdown” if they were just defending themselves?

“Seven, I’m sorry, but they aren’t delusional. They-“

Seven cut him off quickly, “Listen, I know it seems that way. Trust me, he’s really convincing sometimes when he acts like a different person, but I told you in the car that his therapist said it isn’t real. She’s a professional and she knows what’s best for him. It’s hard to make him upset, but it’s necessary if it means he gets better.” 

“I…” Yoosung swallowed. He’s never fought with Seven like this. But… but he’s just wrong. If Yoosung backs down he’ll never see that. Saeran warned him to never doubt what he told Yoosung. And he told Yoosung that he was a different person from Ray. If he doubts that now, he’ll never deserve to be Saeran’s friend. Ray’s too.

“I don’t believe her. You even said yourself that they’re really convincing. Don’t you think that maybe they really are two-“

Seven interrupted again, now sounding impatient rather than his calm tone from before, “ _He_ isn’t. I promise she’s a good therapist. He’s gotten better since seeing her.”

Really? Yoosung has only heard a little bit about the therapist, but it sounds like she doesn’t do anything to help them.

“Then why did you look so surprised that Saeran went to the store with me? Or that Ray came out of his room and we-“

Seven refused to listen, “Don’t call him “Ray”, that isn’t-“

“Quit interrupting me!” Yoosung snapped, not wanting to hear whatever Seven was about to say. 

He is now fuming. He never thought that he could feel this agitated towards Seven. They’re supposed to be best friends. Why is Seven being so unfair to him? Yoosung gets that they’re talking about his brother’s mental health, but he only wants to help.

“I’ll stop interrupting you when you stop being so fucking stupid all the time!” 

Yoosung’s mouth dropped open in disbelief and his eyes began to sting a little. Seven never spit words like that at him. Ever. It’s so hurtful… and honest sounding.

Seven gasped then like he realized what he said. “Yoosung, I-“

“Don’t talk to him like that!” A voice was heard in the background of the call. Yoosung’s eyes widened in surprise. It was Saeran or Ray. Yoosung couldn’t tell who, but they sounded as angry as Yoosung felt before.

Now, Yoosung felt almost heartbroken. A tear slipped down his cheek. He put a hand over his mouth to prevent himself from making any noise.

“I… I didn’t… how long were you listening?” Seven said incredibly guilt ridden to the other person in the room.

“He’s not stupid, Saeyoung! Don’t you dare call him that,” Ray or Saeran yelled. 

A sob slipped past Yoosung’s lips before he could stop it after hearing one of them defend him. That must have turned Seven’s attention back to him.

“I’m so sorry, Yoosung. We’ll talk later, I promise.” Then the line went silent. He hung up.

Seven did sound like he was actually upset with what he said. Yoosung doesn’t want to talk later. Not if Seven is just going to refuse to listen and get angry again. 

Yoosung dropped the phone and buried his face in his hands. His eyes were wet with tears. His elbows rested against his desk and he let himself cry. He’s more upset for Ray and Saeran’s sake rather than his own. Saeran might be right, Seven is a dumbass.

Well, he’s not. He just worries too much about his brother. So much that it’s clouded his judgement about what’s actually best for them. Yoosung doesn’t even fully know what would be good for them, but he knows it isn’t ignoring what they have to say about their own existence.

At least now he knows for sure he isn’t friends with Saeran and Ray for the praise. Seven just did everything but praise him and Yoosung still feels the urge to get closer to them.

Yoosung’s hands fall from his face to the desk. He sniffles and turns on his computer. Maybe he can find proof that he isn’t just being stupid.

He opens up a search engine, types “multiple personalities”, and hits enter.

What shows up first is a medical website about “dissociative identity disorder”. He clicks it and reads a little bit through blurry eyes. It says that it’s a disorder where two or more distinct personality states formed as a reaction to childhood trauma.

Well, that sounds promising. Reading further it says that the personalities, also known as alters, usually don’t share emotions, memories, or identity. That’s Saeran and Ray. It describes what they go through perfectly. It describes them as though they were they’re own people with separate lives.

He takes note of each new thing that could describe them. 

Other symptoms could include headache, amnesia, and zoning out. Ray mentioned getting headaches often when he wakes up, minus the time they were in the store. And neither of them can remember what the other experiences.

Specific things can trigger a certain alter out to control the body. Yoosung doesn’t know if they have a specific thing. Both times he’s seen them switch felt random. Ray did mention that saying “Saeran” to him could wake Saeran up. 

Sometimes multiple alters can be conscious at once for a short period of time. By what they told Yoosung, it sounds like they can’t do that or even know that was possible.

Talk therapy is the treatment for this disorder. The goal often being to integrate the alters into one person. That doesn’t really sound like what their therapist is trying to do. She sounds like she just ignores it.

Yoosung reaches the end of the article and just stares for a little bit. The tears have long dried up by now. That was… informative. He learned the phrase for what Ray and Saeran have and what they could experience, but he has no idea what to do with this information. At least he isn’t stupid, it’s a real thing. They aren’t faking it.

Sighing, he stands up only to flop back down on his bed. It’s a good time to sleep away the rest of the day. He feels exhausted now after crying and cramming his brain full of new material. He’s still in his day clothes but he doesn’t feel like changing or even kicking them off.

Yoosung blinks his eyes open to see the room is completely dark. Wow, he actually did sleep the day away. He doesn’t remember falling asleep so it must have been quick. A look at his alarm clock said it was 9:13 PM. It was around 4 PM when he fell asleep. 

He groans and rubs his eyes. There are indents on his face from the clips in his hair. Reaching over to his desk, he gets his phone. Looking at the homescreen, he can see that Zen and Jaehee are in the RFA messenger talking about something.

Yoosung rolls onto his back and opens the messenger. 

He both wants and really doesn’t want Seven to join. There’s proof that Seven’s brother isn’t pretending to be a different person and Yoosung wants to shove it in his face. But he’s still hurt from the sharp insult Seven hurled at him.

-Yoosung ★ has entered the chatroom-

Jaehee Kang  
Oh, hello Yoosung

Jaehee Kang  
Zen and I were just talking about which upcoming role he should accept.

ZEN  
It’s a tragedy that the auditions for both musicals take place at the same time on the same day.

ZEN  
A tragedy for the audience of the musical I don’t pick.

Then he sends that one kind of smug-looking emoji he likes to use. Yoosung rolls his eyes but laughs at the same time.

Jaehee Kang  
I have to agree.

Yoosung ★  
hello to you both!

Yoosung ★  
I just woke up

Zen sends his surprised emoji.

Jaehee Kang  
Yoosung you’re going to unbalance your sleep schedule.

Jaehee Kang  
Again.

ZEN  
Why were you sleeping in the middle of the day?

ZEN  
You’ll get wrinkles by the time you’re 30.

Yoosung ★  
I was just taking a nap.

Yoosung ★  
don’t act like you’ve never napped before.

ZEN  
I have napped before.

ZEN  
But I’ve never woken up from one right before I go back to bed.

-Yoosung ★ has left the chatroom-

Yoosung doesn’t read Zen’s messages as he’s forced out of the chatroom. His messenger becomes staticy before it turns completely red and glitchy. He jumps from where he’s lying in shock and stares at it with wide eyes. Is Seven punishing him by ruining his messenger? That would be unnecessarily cruel.

He’s greeted with a few messages.

\- Yoosung ★ has entered the chatroom-

-Unknown has entered the chatroom-

Unknown  
Hey.

Unknown  
what are you doing right now

Yoosung just gawks at the messages from a literal unknown sender. That isn’t Seven. Is the messenger being hacked again? Rika is in prison so it can’t be because of her this time.

Unknown  
This is Saeran btw

Yoosung makes an audible “Oh!” then smiles. His previous train of thought is forgotten.

Yoosung ★  
Saeran!

Yoosung ★  
hi!

Yoosung ★  
You hacked the messenger again

Unknown  
Yeah

Unknown  
You’d think idiot would have tightened security after last time

Unknown  
You didn’t answer my question

Yoosung ★  
Um

Yoosung ★  
I just woke up

Yoosung ★  
What are you doing?

Unknown  
Standing outside of your dorm room

Yoosung sat up and looked at the door. There’s no way he’s actually out there. Saeran doesn’t know his dorm room number. Does he? Yoosung laughed nervously to himself.

He sent the emoji he uses when he’s shocked. Because he is just that at the moment.

Yoosung ★  
lolololol

Yoosung ★  
You almost got me

Unknown  
Open the door and see for yourself

Yoosung’s smile dropped. He’s being serious, isn’t he? Yoosung would love to spend time with Saeran, but does Seven know he’s here? What happens if he doesn’t?

He hopped off the bed and took quick steps to the door. He counted to three in his head before opening it. If he’s not there Saeran can laugh at him in the weird chatroom and have a good time. If he is there… well they can both figure it out from there.

On the other side of the door Yoosung can plainly see that Saeran wasn’t lying. Saeran stood there with his phone in his hand looking at Yoosung with a smirk on his face. Yoosung smiled back nervously. Seven was nowhere in sight.

He was dressed more similarly to the grocery trip than the time they first met. This is Saeran’s style for sure. Ray’s is different. He was wearing an unzipped black hoodie with a red tank top underneath. His hair was messy, but not unkempt. He was also wearing boots that made him tower over Yoosung rather than the two of them being the same height as normal. In his other hand he was carrying a grocery bag.

“Hi,” Saeran says in an uncharacteristically nice way and holds the grocery bag out to Yoosung, “For you.”

“Hi! Thank you,” Yoosung says despite not knowing what’s in the bag.

Yoosung takes the bag curiously and looks inside. He gasps in delight as he sees two unopened bags of Honey Buddha Chips.

“Saeran, thank you so much!” He says again and hops in place.

Saeran doesn’t change his expression and moves past Yoosung to go inside the dorm room. He stops right as he’s next to Yoosung and leans down to semi-whisper, “It’s my thanks to you. I don’t say it very often so don’t get used to it.”

Then he continues his way into the room as Yoosung is left standing there with shivers going down his back. Is that going to happen every time Saeran whispers into his ear? Wait, how many times does Saeran plan to do that to him?

Yoosung spins around and closes the door behind him. Saeran and him are hanging out now, he guesses.

Saeran sat himself down on Yoosung’s computer chair and looked around the room. Yoosung watches him a little nervously. Hopefully his room isn’t too lame for Saeran’s tastes.

He should say something. His fight with Seven is making him feel awkward right now around Saeran and he doesn’t like it. He puts the bag full of chips by his minifridge.

“Um, Saeran?” Yoosung asks more timidly than he meant it to. He wrings his hands together behind his back.

His attention is drawn to Yoosung now and he lifts an eyebrow in question.

“Thank you for earlier… with Seven,” He finishes.

Saeran watches him for a moment and his hands slide from the handles of the chair to his lap.

“That wasn’t me,” He then replies offhandedly.

“That was Ray then? Did Seven tell you about what happened?” Yoosung asks before going to sit on his bed, facing Saeran.

There’s a lot of questions Yoosung wants to ask about Seven, but he doesn’t want to hear the answer to any of them. Seven might still be mad at him, or he might want to apologize for what he said. 

He notes in his head to thank Ray the next time he’s awake. Ray seemed to be just as passionate about fighting for Yoosung as Yoosung was for him. They’re already great friends. That thought makes Yoosung incredibly happy.

Saeran looks off to the side for a moment before looking back at Yoosung. 

“No. I’ve seen what was happening before I woke up,” Saeran replied with a tone that Yoosung couldn’t place. 

Wow, Yoosung didn’t know they could do that. They seem confused every time one of them wakes up. Maybe it only happens sometimes? The article didn’t talk about this. Should Yoosung bring the article up to Saeran?

“Saeyoung sounded like he was being a real asshole, huh?” Saeran said. He’s being way more talkative than last time.

Yoosung smiled a little. “Yeah, but not really to me.” He hoped Saeran was picking up on what he was trying to say.

“He’s always like that to me, don’t worry.” Saeran did pick up on it. 

Saeran didn’t look too bothered by what he had said. Yoosung, on the other hand, felt himself getting upset again. He crosses his arms.

“Well he shouldn’t be. You’re a person too. I don’t know why he can’t see that,” Yoosung says with agitation.

Saeran smiled briefly before he forced it off of his face for some reason.

“Why are you the only one that understands that?” A serious undertone is evident in Saeran’s voice.

Yoosung doesn’t know how to answer that question. He looks to the side. Maybe if everyone else knew Saeran and Ray they could see the same thing. They don’t seem to have any interest in joining the RFA so Yoosung doesn’t know how he could help.

“Why did you defend me to my brother? You know what he’s like.”

Yoosung looked at Saeran again. His mint-colored eyes were fixed onto him. Yoosung couldn’t bring himself to look away.

“You told me to never doubt that you were real. And I didn’t. I still don’t. I thought it wasn’t right that you aren’t being treated correctly,” Yoosung spoke without really needing to think about what he wanted to say.

Saeran smiled, a genuine smile instead of a smirk. Yoosung felt a little prouder of himself. It was a good answer and Saeran thought so too.

Saeran surprised him with his next question, “You really like me, don’t you?”

Was it that obvious that Yoosung was becoming a little obsessed with them? He doesn’t like them in like a romantic way if that’s what Saeran is implying. He just wants to befriend them and spend time with them. And also understand them in a way others don’t. 

He does like Saeran, even if Saeran doesn’t really like him yet. Saeran is blunt, in a good way, and Yoosung likes listening to him talk even though he doesn’t normally say much. Looking again at Saeran’s face Yoosung can tell that he’s teasing him. Saeran’s grin is cat-like. Yoosung laughs a little. 

Yoosung kind of awkwardly answers, “Um… I do like you. I think we could be good friends if we tried.”

“Cute,” is the only word Saeran says to that. He says it as a compliment, like he really finds Yoosung adorable.

Yoosung had been called cute many times by many different people, but this felt a little different for some reason. Yoosung felt his face heat up. His hand clenched the bedsheet beneath him.

“Thank… Thank you,” He stuttered out.

Saeran laughed and Yoosung perked up. He never heard Saeran laugh before in a way that isn’t sarcastic. His eyes are scrunched up while he laughs, and he smiles with his teeth. He actually looked cute himself, but Yoosung won’t tell him that. Saeran seems like the type that would get offended by that.

When Saeran stops he says enticingly, “I’ll be your friend if you want, Yoosung.”

Yoosung’s mouth gapes at Saeran before he quickly and enthusiastically says, “Yes, I do want that! Thank you so much!”

Saeran rolls his eyes but is still smiling. 

“Alright, you win. We’re friends. Congratulations,” Saeran tries to say sarcastically, but Yoosung can hear the smile in his voice.

Yoosung gets the urge to hug the other man but holds himself back. They just became friends and Saeran no doubt has his boundaries. He also holds himself back from commenting on the fact that he has two friends in one. That might be insensitive.

Then a phone is heard ringing. Yoosung looks at his own phone to see that no one is calling him, but the glitched chatroom is still open with him and Saeran in it. How does he get out of that? He should ask Saeran.

Saeran looks at his phone and all positive emotions in his features drained away like it was nothing. He groans.

“It’s my dumbass brother. He probably saw that I wasn’t in my room and one of his cars is missing,” Saeran sighs out like it’s nothing.

Yoosung gives him a stunned expression. Seven really didn’t know Saeran was here. And Saeran stole one of his cars after breaking into the RFA chatroom. 

Yoosung has a feeling Seven won’t forgive him anytime soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually feel really bad for how I portray Seven. Like this man is such a sweetheart but I’m turning him into an asshole. No spoilers, but I promise that changes eventually.


	6. Chapter 3 (B): Lockpicking the Chains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray goes to therapy and Saeran makes a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have already read chapter 3 (A) it is suggested that you also read chapter 3 (B) so you get the entire story.
> 
> That being said, hello! Thank you for sticking around. Thank you for reading and I'll see you in chapter 4!

“So, go ahead and tell me anything you feel like talking about that happened these past two weeks,” Kindly said the woman sitting across from Ray.

The woman was sitting on her leather desk chair holding the notebook Ray always sees when he’s here. She’s dressed professionally and has her hair in a bun so tight it looks painful.

Ray took his hand away from his hair and placed it on his lap, folding his hands together. He has something, or rather someone, that he would like to talk about. However, he’s a little afraid of her judgement. Saeyoung sounded so happy that he enjoyed Yoosung’s company, so she should too.

Today, Ray is at one of his therapy appointments. He sees his therapist every other week to help him adjust to the outside world and everything that comes with it. Sometimes, they have nice discussions that Ray certainly finds helpful.

But when his other self is brought up it just makes Ray uncomfortable. If _anyone_ brings him up Ray gets uncomfortable. But when his therapist talks about him, she acts rude in Ray’s opinion. That other self may have insulted her in some way. Ray wouldn’t be surprised. Maybe he could talk about Yoosung without mentioning his other self.

“Well, my brother’s friend came over to see him,” He began with a bit of anticipation.

She nodded along encouragingly.

“Saeyoung had to leave because of his work and left his friend at the house. I was hungry and I thought he left, so I left my room to get something to eat.”

His pointer finger tapped against his hand as he recalled the memory.

“I saw him in our living room and then we talked for a while. He was really nice to talk to,” He paused at seeing his therapist perk up.

“How did you feel while talking to your brother’s friend?”

Ray couldn’t help himself from smiling. “Good, really good. He listened to me without judging me, I think.”

She smiled as well. “That’s wonderful. What’s his name?”

“Yoosung,” Ray doesn’t mention him being in the RFA. That would just lead to a conversation he doesn’t want to have again.

“He sounds like a nice boy. Would you ever want to see him again?” She asks after jotting something down in her notes.

“I actually already did see him again. We went to the supermarket together a couple of days ago.”

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Excellent! It sounds like you’re expanding your support system.”

Just like Saeyoung, she seems very happy about his relationship with Yoosung. All that should matter is that Ray is happy with it too, right? Yoosung hasn’t done anything bad. He’s a good person for Ray to have. Ray is stable enough to have friends.

Ray looks away briefly. “Something like that. I don’t know if we’re friends yet, but he seems to like being with me.”

Yoosung seems to like being with both halves of him. That part is still a little confusing to Ray. He has never met anyone that liked being around his other self. Well… except her.

“Is something the matter? Your expression tells me that there’s something on your mind, am I correct?” She says now with a slight frown.

Ray looks down at his hands in his lap automatically. “No, sorry, I was just distracted for a moment.”

“You can tell me, Saeran. I’m here to listen to your concerns after all.” She says gently.

Ray closed his eyes tightly as he felt the familiar dizzying pressure as soon as the name left her lips. _He_ needs to stay asleep. He doesn’t like therapy, so he has no reason he should want to come out right now.

In his struggle to push the other self back, he could hear his therapist sigh.

“I see we’re still working on getting used to your old name again,” She said.

That’s not his name. He can’t tell her that though, he’s tried before. She only insisted that he might be having a flashback to his time at Magenta. Ray doesn’t even think of that place being related to his name until she brings it up.

Once the feeling stops, Ray opens his eyes again. She’s looking at him expectantly.

“Sorry,” Is all he can manage to say. She’s disappointed in him even if she won’t outright say it.

She doesn’t say anything for a moment. She keeps her eyes on Ray while she thinks. It makes Ray nervous. Sometimes her displeased expression reminds him of the Savior. It makes him want to go home. At least once every time he’s at therapy he’s reminded of that place and he hates it. He does such a good job at forgetting it until he’s here.

Then she speaks, “When you were with Yoosung did he call you by your name?”

Ray doesn’t know what she’s getting at bringing Yoosung up again like that. If he asks her to clarify she might take it to mean something. He can’t tell her the truth about Yoosung. About how open-minded and accepting he is. Ray doesn’t know why Yoosung is like that, but he thinks he likes it.

He doesn’t know if his other self is his own person. Ray had only known him as the strong, aggressive, and efficient monster that came to the surface sometimes to wreak havoc and obey Mint Eye’s every order. That was why Ray thought no one wanted to talk about him or acknowledge that he even exists.

But when Yoosung was with him in the store he said that he enjoyed his time with his other self. He said the name “Saeran” as sweetly as he says “Ray”. He even convinced Yoosung that he was a real person and Yoosung happily accepted that as a fact. Afterwards, for the first time, he went to sleep peacefully when Ray wanted to wake up.

Is everyone else wrong except for Yoosung and his other self? It does always make Ray feel a pit in his stomach when someone says him, or his other self isn’t real.

Now that he’s thinking about it, the last time his other self, Saeran, had hurt their body was months ago. Ray doesn’t know what Saeran does when he’s awake, but Ray hadn’t dealt with one of Saeran’s consequences in ages. The only noticeable thing that’s usually different when he wakes up is that his stomach is fuller and sometimes Saeyoung is mildly upset. The worst things his other self did in the last month or so was kill one of his rose bushes from neglect and eat something that left a bad taste in his mouth.

Maybe there is some truth to what Yoosung said. But Ray knows no one would want to hear it. Saeyoung takes his therapist’s word like its gospel.

“Are you alright?” His therapist asks after Ray didn’t answer her question.

He looks back up at her and his hand goes to play with a strand of his hair.

“Yes, I am,” He says, a little quieter than usual.

She doesn’t look like she buys it. She taps the pen against the notebook. The sound is grating to Ray.

“Do you feel comfortable answering the question I asked?”

Ray doesn’t say anything for a beat and then speaks up before his therapist could, “Yes.”

He could have said no, but then she’ll just assume what she wants. She’s done that before when Ray chooses to be silent.

She nods, “Go on then.”

“Yoosung does not call me… Saeran,” Ray says slowly. He’s pleasantly surprised there isn’t any dizziness like usual.

His therapist raises an eyebrow. “What does he call you?”

“Ray.”

She hummed while writing something down in her notes. “Is Yoosung aware of your past trauma?”

Ray bites the inside of his cheek for a second. This is going in a direction he would rather not go.

“He is,” Ray then replies.

She stopped writing and looked up at him. “Does he know that he shouldn’t be calling you that anymore?”

But it doesn’t hurt him when he’s called Ray. He actually likes it a lot.

“He doesn’t have to stop,” He says softly.

“What was that?”

“I said, he doesn’t have to stop calling me Ray. I feel fine when he says it,” Ray looks back at her, now slightly more determined.

She doesn’t look impressed. She sighs again and puts her notes down.

“I think this might be an unhealthy friend to have, Saeran.”

He flinches and he’s dizzied again. Temporarily, he is unable to feel the agitation he wants to feel. He’s too busy trying to stay awake.

“Now, you said that name yourself earlier and you were fine. I don’t know if this affects you like you believe it does,” She said simply, there was an undertone to her voice that sounded like she thought Ray was being dumb.

Ray might be a moron and an airhead sometimes, but now he doesn’t think that’s the case.

The dizziness disappears once again once Ray finds his determination again. He scowls at her.

“It does affect me; you just don’t believe me… And don’t talk about Yoosung like that. I asked him to call me Ray,” He says with displeasure and crosses his arms.

“Are you the other one now?” She asks unamused.

Ray huffs out a laugh in disbelief. Does she really think that Saeran just woke up? He couldn’t pretend to be Saeran. He doesn’t know what Saeran is really like, Yoosung proved that.

“No, I’m allowed to feel anger too. Not just him.” He replies.

She nods and sits back, trying to not seem threatening. “You are allowed to feel anger,” She stops, and Ray waits for her to continue, “I noticed you called yourself “him””.

“I called my other self him, not me,” Ray says despite knowing it won’t convince her, but will make her repeat the same thing over and over again.

They haven’t had this back and forth is some time. Ray thought it was useless to keep trying to get through to her so he stopped months ago.

His therapist then gently says as expected, “You are one person, Saeran-“

“Stop calling me that!” Ray shouts as he is hit with the dizzying pulse for the third time today.

He can’t see her in his haze, but he knows she’s gone quiet. When he’s come to again, he sees her staring at him, slightly taken aback but trying hard to not show it. Ray can see it though. He knows she thinks he’s a freak.

She straightens herself out and says, “I think we should wrap up for the day, huh? We can talk more in depth about this next time.”

Ray couldn’t agree more.

The therapist stands up and shows him to the door like he hasn’t walked through it at least fifty times. They walk together to the waiting room where Saeyoung is playing a game on his phone.

He looks up and gives Ray a big grin. Ray gives him a small smile in return, trying not to alarm him of anything being off. Then his therapist motions for Saeyoung to step aside with her. Ray frowns again. So much for that.

He wishes she believed in doctor-patient confidentiality. He’s hoping she just talks about him yelling rather than anything about Yoosung. His brother might limit his time with Yoosung if she does. If Yoosung can’t come over again Ray doesn’t know how he’d handle it. He’s already gotten so attached in only a week.

While he waits by the door, he can see Saeyoung’s expression fall as his eyes dart over to his brother. Then he nods and comes over to Saeran. They walk out the door together and silently get into one of Saeyoung’s absurdly expensive cars.

The only thing Saeyoung said to Ray on the way home was, “I’m sorry today has been a bad day.”

To which Ray replied with, “It’s alright.”

Once at home, Ray waited awkwardly in the kitchen with Saeyoung. He expected a bunch of questions about his session, but instead Saeyoung wordlessly went to his room. Ray stared down the hall curiously. Before, on bad days Saeyoung would do his best to cheer him up.

Something’s off. Scenarios roll through Ray’s brain, some horrible thoughts like maybe Saeyoung has had enough of Ray. Maybe he’s kicking Ray out. Maybe he’s going to kill himself or Ray.

Ray shook off the intense and unrealistic intrusive thoughts. None of that was going to happen. His mind pushes thoughts like that into his head at the worst of times. They used to affect him in the worst of ways when he was still living with his abusers.

Yoosung popped into his mind briefly like he has been since they met, and Ray panicked. What if he’s telling Yoosung to leave him alone or that he’s too crazy to have friends like him? Those are… more realistic than the other intrusive thoughts.

Ray’s feet move on his own towards Saeyoung’s bedroom. He stops to put his ear against the door.

“-You encouraged his delusional state. He had a meltdown at his therapy appointment. The therapist said it was like he took ten steps back,” Ray could hear Saeyoung say with annoyance.

Ray clenched his teeth together. He really is ruining his friendship with Yoosung like he thought. Ray felt like crying and banging his head against the door, but he kept listening.

His brother sighs and says carefully, “Listen, I know it seems that way. Trust me, he’s really convincing sometimes when he acts like a different person, but I told you in the car that his therapist said it isn’t real. She’s a professional and she knows what’s best for him. It’s hard to make him upset, but it’s necessary if it means he gets better.”

He’s not getting better! Saeran isn’t going away and he isn’t faking anything. He’s still anxious and depressed. She hasn’t done anything but talk to him. Ray feels a drop leave his eye. God he’s so weak.

Saeyoung now sounds annoyed again, “ _He_ isn’t. I promise she’s a good therapist. He’s gotten better since seeing her.”

In what way? If anything, Saeran got better because he stopped trying to hurt himself and Ray, but Ray knows Saeran never listens at therapy. They probably got better on their own by just leaving that horrible cult.

“Don’t call him “Ray”, that isn’t-“

Ray flinches at hearing that. Yoosung is still calling him by his name. He’s fighting for him… and Saeran. He wipes the tears from his eyes and pulls himself together.

“I’ll stop interrupting you when you stop being so fucking stupid all the time!” Saeyoung suddenly says loudly.

Ray’s eyes widen in disbelief and he gasps silently. Why would he ever call Yoosung that? It doesn’t matter because Ray is suddenly seeing red.

“Yoosung, I-“

He kicks the door open and it slams against the wall. His brother is standing in the middle of his dark room, only being illuminated by the many computer screens. Saeyoung whips his entire body to face Ray. He looked at him with wide eyes like he knew he did something terrible.

“Don’t talk to him like that!” Ray yells with fury evident in his voice. If Yoosung is going to defend him, Ray will do the same for him. His personal weaknesses be damned.

Saeyoung was at a loss for words. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before he actually spoke guiltily, “I… I didn’t… how long were you listening?”

Ignoring the question completely, Ray kept shouting, “He’s not stupid, Saeyoung! Don’t you dare call him that.”

Yoosung doesn’t deserve to be sworn at and insulted. He’s too nice, too caring, and too good for Ray. Ray can imagine Yoosung teary-eyed in his head and he never wants to see it again if he can help it.

Saeyoung looked at him sadly before he adjusted the phone in his hand. “I’m so sorry, Yoosung. We’ll talk later, I promise.”

Then he hung up the phone and let his hand drop, still holding his phone.

“Is Yoosung okay?” Ray asked before his brother could say anything.

“Are you okay?”

“Answer my question first, and don’t lie to me,” He said accusingly. He knows from experience that Yoosung is sensitive to criticism.

“He’s… upset. With me.” Saeyoung finally said, still guilty.

“Good. He should be,” Ray said and crossed his arms over his chest. He could say a lot more, but none of it would be productive.

His brother put his phone in his pocket. “I did go too far. I wasn’t thinking straight. I promise I’ll apologize to him later.”

They stood in silence for a minute. Ray didn’t know what to do. He wants to check on Yoosung, but he doesn’t have his number. It could be easy to find if Ray looks through some stuff, but he hasn’t hacked into anything in ages.

“I… know you like Yoosung. I do too, he’s an amazing friend, but…” Saeyoung started to say, visibly uncomfortable. He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and wasn’t looking at Ray’s face.

Ray’s heart stops.

“Don’t you dare say what I think you’re about to say,” Ray replies weakly.

“I’m not saying that you two shouldn’t be friends. I just think maybe… we should wait a little while first.” Saeyoung finally looks at him.

The tears are back, and he feels like he’s having trouble breathing. If he means wait until Saeran is gone then they’ll be waiting forever. He hasn’t realized just how trapped he feels here until this very moment.

Ray hiccups and then says pathetically, “Will anything change your mind?”

Saeyoung steps forward and takes Ray in his arms to comfort him like he’s done many times before, both recently and in their childhood. This time it just makes the sting worse. His brother’s hand begins rubbing his back.

“I’m sorry, Saeran,” He says into Ray’s hair.

Ray doesn’t even fight it this time.

* * *

Saeran is brought into existence with a jolt, but this time is different. He’s momentarily stunned and confused when he realizes something.

He pushes hard against Saeyoung’s chest, knocking him backwards and making him stumble a few steps back. Saeyoung looks at him with this dopey expression on his face before looking sad again.

Again.

Because Saeran remembers what happened. Saeran remembers what Ray had just gone through. That had never in their entire lives happened before. He’s only ever been relayed information from others on what had been happening. This time he’s seen it for himself.

It wasn’t like he was Ray in his memories. It was kind of like he was watching a screen that was showing what was happening through Ray’s eyes. It felt almost like a dream.

He had seen the horrendous therapy session. He never did like that know-it-all that calls herself a doctor. He had heard the moronic things his brother said on the phone. And he felt the energy leave Ray before he was pulled awake.

He doesn’t know why this time is different. He can ignore it for a while because he’s upset too. No one is being fair, and Ray was about to let Saeyoung walk all over him again.

“Fuck you, Saeyoung. You can’t control every part of my life like I’m your little puppet. I’ve already been through that twice and I’m not doing it anymore,” Saeran starts.

He knows the words will pierce his brother right into his bleeding heart. That’s what he gets for… Well, being a dumbass. He doesn’t care about Ray and Yoosung’s feelings, he just thinks Saeyoung should get a taste of his own medicine.

Saeyoung’s mouth drops open and he looks at him with hurt eyes. Good, that’s what Saeran intended.

“You know it isn’t like that. I would never do anything like they did. I just want-“

“To keep me “safe and happy”. I know, I’ve listened to you say it a thousand fucking times.” Saeran sneers and takes a step in Saeyoung’s direction.

Saeyoung doesn’t back up or show fear like Yoosung. He stays firmly where he is and softens his expression.

“It’s true. I love you so much,” Saeyoung pleads.

Saeran speaks what’s on his mind before thinking.

“Why don’t you chain me to the wall? I’ll probably be safe then, right? Can’t hurt myself if I can’t move.” Saeran spits at him.

Saeyoung gasps and now does take a step back like Saeran had physically hurt him. That could have been too much; those words were too ugly even for Saeran. He shouldn’t have said that. He isn’t used to waking up angry and having memories, but that isn’t an excuse.

Saeran grimaces to himself and leaves the room briskly. He can’t stand looking at Saeyoung’s face right now, especially with that expression. It reminds him too much of when they were kids.

He hears his brother follow him into the hallway.

“Wait! Where are you going?” He asks in a strangled sounding tone.

“My room before I say anything else.”

Saeyoung lets him go without another word and Saeran goes to his room and slams the door shut. It’s petty, but he still feels a range of negative emotions at the moment. This room is stuffy. The whole bunker is stuffy. Saeran longs for fresh air at the moment. It would calm him down faster.

He paces around his room for a few minutes while he gathers his thoughts. That was a lot that had just happened. Why did he wake up with Ray’s memories? Did Ray want him to see what was happening or was it as straightforward as Saeran just waking up slowly?

It’s not a bad thing. Saeran appreciated the little preview of what he was about to be thrown into. Can Ray see his world through his eyes right now? It’s selfish, but Saeran hopes not. He’d prefer to not be under constant surveillance.

His thought process is interrupted with a new, out of place thought. Is Yoosung okay? That shouldn’t matter right now, it isn’t Saeran’s problem.

Saeran had not heard his brother get heated like that since Mint Eye was still a thing. And all because Yoosung probably said some dumb shit about his existence. The words most likely weren’t dumb, but the fact he said them at all is dumb. Yoosung should have known Saeyoung would throw a little tantrum at thinking he hurt his little brother.

Still, the thought of Yoosung telling off Saeyoung made him smile. Maybe his golden boy persona _is_ genuine. That’s a dangerous thought; when you start believing them is when you get caught in the trap, after all. Saeran can’t deny that he is a good listener though.

Maybe Yoosung deserves a little reward. One that can both benefit Saeran and punish Saeyoung at the same time. Yoosung’s eyes did light up every time Saeran spoke to him. Even when backed into a corner, the little weirdo. It made Saeran’s chest feel tight, but not in a bad way. Don’t get too close, just get what he wants and go.

A smirk tugged at his mouth at the thought of a new idea. Yoosung could be useful.

Sitting at his desk, he opens his laptop. It’s been a while and the tech is simpler than he’s used to, but Saeran can get what he wants if he works at it.

He connects his phone to his laptop. Then he connects them both to the secure network that Saeyoung set up himself. It’s easy now that Saeran already has access to the network. It was much harder connecting to Saeyoung’s computer through the network. It took even more effort to do it while keeping the invasion undetectable. Eventually, through memory and skill, Saeran broke through and was connected to Saeyoung’s computer.

Saeran is proud of himself but won’t let himself feel too smug yet. He used to hate hacking, but now that he’s doing it for himself it’s actually quite fun. It's mind numbing too which is good. He likes being productive while not having to think about anything else.

In his free time Saeran could have fun looking through all of Saeyoung’s projects, but right now he has his own mission. Eventually he finds what he’s looking for. The server for the RFA messenger. Looking a little further, he sees the messenger program. The entire RFA should be thankful that only Saeran… and Ray are better hackers than his brother.

The program is sent to Saeran’s phone. He lifts it briefly to confirm that it is indeed downloading as intended. Saeyoung didn’t improve security at all since the last time Saeran downloaded this program. He doesn’t know if it’s because his brother is lazy or that he just didn’t see the point if only his own brother could break through.

Once the program is finished downloading, Saeran opens the app to see that he has no trouble connecting to the server. Now that the first step is done, Saeran disconnects from Saeyoung’s computer. Staying longer than he needs to gives his brother a better chance at finding him there.

He shuts the app down and starts dissecting it from the inside. If he wants no one to know that he’s on the server, he has to make a few tweaks that he’s made before. This way, he can watch the chats without notifying others that he’s in the chatroom. He can also make his own “special” chatroom where he can chat with others while no one else knows. The only person he even wants to speak to is Yoosung so that function will only be used by them two.

Saeyoung will notice eventually, probably even quicker than last time, but he’ll deal with that when the time comes. This entire thing could have been solved quicker if Saeran just looked for Yoosung’s phone number, but that wouldn’t be nearly as rewarding. Plus, he can spy on the RFA for fun like he used to. They’re entertaining to watch, like his own reality TV show. As long as Ray doesn’t spoil his fun like the goody two shoes he is.

He finishes his changes and boots up the app to make sure it works. He enters the chatroom, but no one else is there. There is no notification saying that he’s entered the chatroom. It works.

Saeran leans back and cracks his stiff neck. Looking at his laptop, he can see that he’s finished in about three hours. Pretty good, but he could have done better if he wasn’t rusty. All he needs to do now is wait for Yoosung to start talking in the messenger.

He wants to ask if he can come over to Yoosung’s place. That way, Yoosung is rewarded with his company for sticking up to his brother and Saeran can get out of the house for a while. Saeran could just leave for a while, but he has other thoughts in mind.

He waits for a little bit as if Yoosung would get a psychic message from him and join. He doesn’t and Saeran quickly becomes bored. His boredom resulted in him snooping around their last few chat logs. Nothing too interesting.

Saeran then realizes he still looks like Ray when he sees he’s wearing one of his shirts. He quickly gets up to change into his own clothes and ruffles out his neat hair until it looks just right. That’s better. He looks less like a weird coffee shop host now.

A notification on the messenger brings Saeran’s attention to the chatroom. He relaxes again once he sees it’s the actor of the RFA, Zen. Not who he’s looking for. He doesn’t even bother looking at what he has to say.

A few moments later and another notification sounds. Saeran perks up again only to see Jumin Han’s assistant enter the chatroom. Well, the chatroom has probably turned into a kissing Zen’s ass marathon. It always does when it’s just those two. Sometimes when MC is there too. It’s way more entertaining to watch when Zen and Jumin Han are in the same chatroom.

Saeran was getting tired of being teased like this. He opened the program’s inner workings again and made a simple change. His notification sounds for Yoosung are different from everyone else’s. Everyone else has a simple dinging noise when they enter the chatroom. Now for Saeran, when Yoosung enters the chatroom it’ll be more of a twinkling sound. He closes the program back up.

Then he looks up Yoosung’s college, SKY University. Then he hacks into the college’s network. It was way easier than getting through his brother’s security. He finds Yoosung’s student profile. He huffed a laugh. That’s a lot of low grades.

This makes him look like a bit of a stalker, but he can almost guarantee his brother has done the same thing at one point.

Looking a little further, Saeran finds his exact dorm address and number. There’s where he’ll go tonight if Yoosung ever logs in. Going now without a warning would be rude. And Saeran isn’t looking to be rude right now.

He’s putting the address into his phone when he gets another notification. The sound specifically for Yoosung plays. Saeran disconnects from the college’s network and opens the app. Sure enough, Yoosung has logged in.

Saeran gets up from his chair and scrambles to put on his boots. Then he leaves his room and goes towards the garage. Saeyoung isn’t out here, good. He stops in the kitchen on the way to grab some of his brother’s chips that Yoosung likes and puts them into a bag. He deserves a little treat.

Once out of the kitchen, he grabs a set of keys and enters the garage. He presses the unlock button and the red convertible’s lights flash. Oh, Saeyoung is not going to like that Saeran is taking his favorite car. He isn’t going to like Saeran leaving either, but he’s going to deal with it.

The way to Yoosung’s dorm was quicker than he expected. Maybe ten minutes has passed. Yoosung was still chatting with the other two.

Oh shit. In Saeran’s hurry he didn’t even talk to Yoosung yet. Moron. He put his head against the steering wheel in defeat for a moment. Sitting back up, he opens a chatroom for only him and Yoosung and pulls the other man in.

\- Yoosung ★ has entered the chatroom-

-Unknown has entered the chatroom-

He forgot to input his name so now he’s “Unknown User” shortened to “Unknown”. Ugh, another thing he overlooked.

Unknown  
Hey.

Unknown  
what are you doing right now

Saeran gets out of the car with his things and speed walks towards the dorm. The air outside smells amazing as usual. It had rained recently so it smelled even better. He enters the building and goes into the elevator to the second floor. Why hasn’t Yoosung answered him? Oh, right.

Unknown  
This is Saeran btw

Yoosung ★  
Saeran!

Yoosung ★  
hi!

Yoosung ★  
You hacked the messenger again

Saeran walks down the hallway, scanning each number as he goes by. He glances down at his phone to see Yoosung’s excited sounding response. Saeran stops to type a response.

Unknown  
Yeah

Unknown  
You’d think idiot would have tightened security after last time

Unknown  
You didn’t answer my question

Then he finds Yoosung's dorm. He stops to catch his breath. His body isn’t used to moving that quickly for a long period of time. He should start working out whenever he’s awake.

Yoosung ★  
Um

Yoosung ★  
I just woke up

Yoosung ★  
What are you doing?

Unknown  
Standing outside of your dorm room

Straight to the point. It’s creepy, Saeran can admit that. But if Yoosung really is that desperate for Saeran’s friendship he shouldn’t mind.

Yoosung sends an emoji of his face gasping in shock.

Yoosung ★  
lolololol

Yoosung ★  
You almost got me

Unknown  
Open the door and see for yourself

Saeran waits for a little bit, hoping that Yoosung isn’t so spooked that he’d call the cops. If he had to explain that to his brother he’d be in some hot shit.

The door opens and he sees a nervous looking Yoosung. He tries to smile at him to show him he isn’t there to kill him. Yoosung, still visibly uncomfortable, smiles back. Yoosung has slight bags under his eyes. He must still be tired after waking up.

Saeran speaks in a slight upbeat tone to calm Yoosung and holds out the gift he brought, “Hi, for you.”

Yoosung before even seeing the gift, makes an “o” with his mouth and looks more curious now than anxious.

“Hi! Thank you,” Yoosung replies while taking the bag.

He peaks inside then gasps and smiles widely while showing his teeth. He also hops in place like he can’t contain his energy.

“Saeran, thank you so much!” Yoosung is no longer showing any apprehension of Saeran being here.

This is exactly what Saeran wanted. The smirk doesn’t fall from his face as he invites himself into Yoosung’s dorm. But first, he stops and leans down to speak into Yoosung’s ear lowly.

“It’s my thanks to you. I don’t say it very often so don’t get used to it.”

Then Saeran entered the dorm room. He couldn’t resist doing that again after Yoosung’s reaction to it a few days ago. Yoosung didn’t disappoint and Saeran could see the slight red tint to his cheeks. He’ll be fun to mess with in the future.

Speaking of the future, that’s the whole reason Saeran is here. From now on, Yoosung is going to be his ticket out of the bunker. Yoosung has this trustworthy aura about him. Saeran hasn’t fallen for it, but his brother certainly has. A little mishap happened today but Saeran knows with some nudges he can fix it. Saeyoung has been fine with Saeran leaving the house with Yoosung, his babysitter.

All he would have to do is ask the easily swayed man to go out with him. He’ll say yes and Saeran can experience some freedom. Saeran also could find a way to lose Yoosung and get maybe an hour to himself. Yoosung gets to spend some time with his “friend” and Saeran gets to temporarily live his life as he wants without his brother breathing down his neck. A win/win on both ends. A win/win/win situation if Ray comes out sometimes and gets to see his new little friend.

He just needs to play nice with Yoosung and eventually his brother will see that Saeran can live on his own, or at least, without his constant surveillance. Then all he will have to deal with is Ray. If they weren’t sharing a body, Saeran would find a way to shake him loose too.

Saeran sat down at the little desk on the farthest wall in the room. Looking around he could see some posters and pictures of both family and friends. Surprisingly, no Savior, or Rika, is in any of the photos. Other RFA members are, but not her. He must have accepted how deranged she is. If he recalled, Yoosung was the one that worshiped his Savior- Rika almost as much as the members of the cult.

Yoosung shut the door behind himself and put his gift out of sight. Then he looks back at Saeran, now slightly nervous again. Saeran can see him out of the corner of his eye. Should he stop looking at his personal photos? Is that making the other man nervous?

“Um, Saeran?”

Saeran turns his head to fully face Yoosung and lifts an eyebrow in question.

“Thank you for earlier… with Seven,” Yoosung says while his body language is trying to make himself look smaller.

Saeran debates on taking credit for that, but Ray would want to talk about it the next time he sees Yoosung. It doesn’t really matter if himself or Ray is Yoosung’s favorite, as long as he gets what he wants. He lets his hands fall to his lap from the handles of the chair. His posture was a bit intimidating for his liking.

He replies to Yoosung like it wasn’t a big deal, “That wasn’t me.”

“That was Ray then? Did Seven tell you about what happened?”

Yoosung sits on the bed next to where Saeran is sitting. Saeran is mildly uncomfortable with how close Yoosung is, but he’ll deal with it. Yoosung also remembered how Ray and Saeran’s memory works… or worked because that suddenly changed. It’s a little scary how observant Yoosung is.

“No. I’ve seen what was happening before I woke up,” Saeran said, feeling a little safer that Yoosung doesn’t know too much about how his brain works. Saeran doesn’t either, but he isn’t going to think about that part.

Saeran could see the cogs turning in Yoosung’s head. He looked like he was storing that information away for later.

Saeran snaps him out of whatever thought process he was having by continuing their conversation.

“Saeyoung sounded like he was being a real asshole, huh?”

Yoosung smiled sadly at that before saying, “Yeah, but not really to me.”

Yoosung was trying to show that he cared more about Saeran than himself. The bonding thing is going pretty well. He’s way better at being nice than Saeran is.

“He’s always like that to me, don’t worry,” Saeran dismisses.

Yoosung crossed his arms like what Saeran said pissed him off.

“Well he shouldn’t be. You’re a person too. I don’t know why he can’t see that.”

Oh, that’s why he’s pissed off. What a little dumbass, caring so much for others. He means dumbass in both an endearing way and an insulting way. The world is full of people who don’t deserve that amount of care. Yoosung will burn himself out if he cares that much about everyone he meets.

Saeran is surprised to find a smile on his face that he didn’t know was there. He changes his expression back to neutral before asking Yoosung a question that has been on his mind since the day at the grocery store.

“Why are you the only one that understands that?”

Yoosung looked away from Saeran. His expression was one of discomfort. That might have been a question too difficult to answer. It was more of a rhetorical question anyway.

He asked another question that would hopefully be easier for Yoosung to answer, “Why did you defend me to my brother? You know what he’s like.”

Yoosung gazed at Saeran again.

“You told me to never doubt that you were real. And I didn’t. I still don’t. I thought it wasn’t right that you aren’t being treated correctly,” He answered.

He really _is_ a good listener after all. Maybe getting Yoosung all flustered is one of the best ways to keep something in his head. Saeran finds himself smiling again. He isn’t sure why.

Saeran decided to tease him a little, not really to say anything important like in his theory, but because it’s been fun to do so far, “You really like me, don’t you?”

Yoosung’s eyes widen a little at the question and he starts looking embarrassed. Saeran smiles a little wider at the sight. Yoosung giggles a little. It’s kind of cute. At least his new little tool is cute, Saeran is comfortable admitting that.

“Um… I do like you. I think we could be good friends if we tried,” Yoosung then finally answers.

Saeran wasn’t really expecting an answer to that, but he’s delighted he got one. Yoosung just rolled them right into what Saeran wanted to propose.

“Cute,” slips out of Saeran’s mouth before he could think to stop it. He curses himself in his head.

Now Yoosung’s face is going red again. “Thank… Thank you,” he stutters out.

He really is a sucker for praise like he is in the messenger. Crisis averted, Saeran isn’t embarrassed anymore. He laughs at Yoosung’s reaction. Not in a mean way, but like Yoosung was naturally being funny.

Saeran then says the magic words that will have Yoosung at his every beck and call, “I’ll be your friend if you want, Yoosung.”

Yoosung immediately responds with enthusiasm like he was waiting his whole life for this moment, “Yes, I do want that! Thank you so much!”

Saeran smiles and rolls his eyes playfully. It’s not supposed to be that easy, but maybe god is giving him a free pass here for having a shitty life.

“Alright, you win. We’re friends. Congratulations,” Saeran says sarcastically.

Yoosung looks absolutely giddy.

Then Saeran’s phone rings in his pocket. He takes it out and sees his brother's smiling face with his name above it. Looks like he noticed Saeran took off. If he doesn’t answer Saeyoung will probably call the fire brigade or some other nonsense.

“It’s my dumbass brother. He probably saw that I wasn’t in my room and one of his cars is missing,” Saeran explains to Yoosung with a sigh.

Yoosung looks at him like he grew another head. Maybe he shouldn’t have mentioned stealing his brother’s car.

He has an idea. One that was inspired by something his dumb as a rock therapist said.

He could pretend to be Ray to get Saeyoung off his back a little. Liking that plan, he hits the answer call button and brings the phone up to his ear.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed reading! If you did like it, then consider leaving a comment and subscribing for email notifications because I never consistently upload on a schedule.


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